Sand Dollar Cookies — The Simple Rhythm of a Neighborhood Bakery

I crossed the bridge to Anapra on Wednesday. The weekly visit. Lupita's conchas are excellent — eight years of practice, eight years of Rosa's recipe in her hands. The neighborhood women come at dawn. The children come after school. The bakery is what I dreamed it would be: a place that smells like home in a neighborhood that needed home.

Watching Lupita work every Wednesday — the same hands, the same flour-dusted counter, the same unhurried confidence — reminded me that the best baking is never complicated. It’s just shown up for, day after day. When I got home that evening I wanted to bring something of that feeling into my own kitchen, something simple enough to make on a weeknight but lovely enough to set on a plate and share. These Sand Dollar Cookies are exactly that: quiet, unassuming, and the kind of thing that makes a house feel like a home the moment they come out of the oven.

Sand Dollar Cookies

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (for decorating)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for finishing)

Instructions

1. Cream the butter. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and powdered sugar together with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined.
2. Mix the dough. Reduce mixer to low and add flour and salt gradually, mixing just until a soft dough forms. Do not overwork. If the dough feels sticky, refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Shape the cookies. Roll dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball gently with the bottom of a glass to about 1/4-inch thickness, forming a round disc.
5. Decorate. Press 5 sliced almonds onto each cookie in a spoke pattern to mimic the ridges of a sand dollar. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar.
6. Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden and the centers look set but pale. Do not overbake — these cookies should remain tender.
7. Cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They will firm up as they cool.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 148 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 28mg