Preheat oven to 350°F and set oven rack to the middle position. Lightly butter a 10"x15" baking tray, set aside.
Cream together butter and granulated sugar. Divide the egg and add the egg yolk, cinnamon, salt and almond extract. Beat to fully combine. Add flour and mix only until dough starts to come together.
Press or roll dough evenly into prepared pan. Whisk egg white with 1 tbsp water. Brush evenly onto prepared dough. Sprinkle evenly with almonds and then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Just enough to create a nice sparkle.
Bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes and then cut into squares or diamonds while the cookie is warm and soft. Once cut, allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Recipe Notes
-coarse sugar is a larger crystal sugar that doesn't melt when baked so it keeps a sparkle on the goods it's sprinkled on. It may also be called pearl sugar, decorators sugar, sparkling sugar.
-I get about 45 - 2" diamond shaped cookies, plus the best and crispiest half diamonds around the edges.
-I've tried sliced almonds with and without the skin and both are good to use and is a matter of preference.
-I find it just as easy to cut the squares instead of just scoring them while they are warm, but if you're having difficulty just score them and cut when cool.
-cookies are best if eaten while fresh, however they will last in a sealed container at room temperature for several days. If freezing, allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container away from strong odours.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream butter and brown sugar until light.
Add oil and molasses and beat until combined. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated.
Mix in flour until well combined.
Flatten dough into a round disk and chill for a minimum of three hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking trays with parchment.
Divide dough into equal portions using a tablespoon or weigh (I used 20g each). The dough balls should be an approximate inch in diameter.
Roll each ball in sugar to coat completely. If the dough has warmed while you were rolling, rechill rolled dough for about 10 minutes to firm up again (this prevents the cookies from overspreading). Arrange prepared dough on baking trays placing at least 2" apart. There's no need to flatten cookies. Sprinkle the tops with additional sugar.
Bake cookies on the middle rack for 9-10 minutes only. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
-Start these cookies several hours ahead as they need time to chill.
-Using coarse sugar makes for a pretty holiday cookie. It will take a little more coarse sugar than granulated sugar for rolling.
-I find the dough warms up too much while rolling into balls, especially if taking the time to weigh each one. Therefore, I suggest that you rechill the rolled balls for about 10 minutes to prevent too much spread. You can do this before rolling in sugar, after rolling in sugar, or once they are prepped on the baking tray (this is great if you can fit the tray in your fridge)
-At 20 grams each, I get 38-2 3/4" cookies.
-Do not overcrowd the cookies on the cookie sheet and do not overbake. These cookies are wonderfully chewy at the 9-minute mark.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare cake pans as per option 1 or option 2 below.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, oil, milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Stir in parsnips.
Option 1: Line the bottoms of 3 - 8" round cake pans with parchment and spray sides with non-stick spray. Divide batter evenly into each pan and spread out with a spatula (about 13 ounces per pan). Bake on centre rack for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Remove cake from pans and peel off parchment. Brush each layer with the simple syrup. Arrange one layer on a serving plate and spread with approximately 1/4 of icing. Top with another layer and repeat with icing and top with the remaining cake layer. Ice the top, reserving a small amount of icing to fill in the layer sides. Run a bench scraper or long straight edge spatula around the outside of the cake to smear and flatten the icing into a "naked cake" look. Dust the top with cinnamon and cut into desired wedges.
Option 2: Spray a 9"x13" pan with non-stick spray. Pour batter into the pan and spread out evenly with a spatula. Bake on centre rack for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Brush with simple syrup and spread evenly with frosting. Cut into desired squares and serve.
Simple Syrup
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Once at a boil, allow syrup to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in brandy. Allow to cool completely before brushing on the cake.
Cream Cheese Icing
Beat butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, spices and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Frost cake as desired.
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