Gluten Free Almond Cookies

Not only are these deliciously crunchy almond cookies gluten free, but they're "almost" fat free too. Best of all, you need less than five different ingredients to bake these little treats. Don't be alarmed by the fact that they're quite hard and crisp. Their firm texture makes them great  "dunking" cookies and they are best enjoyed dipped in a cup of hot coffee or better yet, a glass of dessert wine.

Ingredients
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg white, at room temperature,  lightly beaten
1 cup almonds, blanched and finely ground + additional whole almonds to decorate
pinch of salt
couple of drops of pure almond extract
confectioners' sugar fur dusting


Preparation
Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine ground almonds, confectioners' sugar and salt in a bowl.
Mix lightly beaten egg white with almond extract and add to the almond/sugar mixture.
Combine into a smooth dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Shape chilled dough into walnut size balls and place on prepared cookie sheet, spaced apart about 2 inches. Top each cookie with a whole almond and flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet half way through . Let cookies cool on wire rack and dust with confectioners' sugar. Store cookies in an air tight container.