1. 1 cup of butter, room temperature
2. 2/3 cup of sugar
3. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4. 1 teaspoon of almond extract
5. 2 1/2 cups of flour
6. 1 cup of almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
7. 1/4 cup of powdered sugar for sprinkling

Method

1 Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix.

2 Add the flour and almond flour. Mix thoroughly.

3 Take generous tablespoons of the dough (it will be slightly crumbly) and roll it into a small ball, about an inch in diameter, and then shape into a crescent shape. Place onto parchment paper and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until a light golden brown.

4 Dust with powdered sugar.

For added decadence let the cookies cool and dip one end of them into some melted chocolate, then let the chocolate harden.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

1 cup (160g) chopped dates
1 cup (220g) brown sugar, firmly packed
60g butter
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, sifted
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ cup (60g) chopped walnuts
1 egg, lightly beaten

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan. Grease two 8x17cm nut roll pans.

2. Combine dates, sugar, butter and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Stir on low heat for 1“2 minutes, without boiling, until sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil, remove from heat, cool for five minutes.

3. Sift flour into a large bowl with bicarbonate of soda and stir in date mixture, nuts, and egg. Divide mixture between prepared pans, filling to only half full. Cover with lids.

4. Bake, standing upright, for 30-35 minutes. Stand rolls for 10 minutes before removing lid. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Serve sliced and spread with butter.
Tip:
Can be made 2 days ahead
Take care of the scalding steam when turning out the cooked rolls.
Store in an airtight container.