Step 1

1 For the praline: Grease a baking sheet generously with butter or line with a silicone liner

Step 2

2 Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a medium saucepan, off the heat

Step 3

3 Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved

Step 4

4 Once the liquid is clear, increase the heat to medium-high

Step 5

5 As the liquid bubbles, brush down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water

Step 6

6 (This, along with the lemon juice, will help prevent the sugar from crystallizing

Step 7

7 ) Do not stir the mixture

Step 8

8 After about 15 to 20 minutes, it will begin to turn golden; watch it carefully, because it will darken quickly

Step 9

9 After another few minutes, when the mixture is golden brown, remove it from the heat and stir in the almonds

Step 10

10 Return to the heat and cook just until the caramel liquefies again, then pour it onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a thin layer

Step 11

11 When cool, finely chop by hand or pulverize in a food processor

Step 12

12 Reserve 3/4 cup for one batch of the cookie recipe

Step 13

13 For the cookies: Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy

Step 14

14 Reduce the speed to medium-low; add the vanilla extract and salt, beating just until incorporated

Step 15

15 Stop to scrape down the bowl

Step 16

16 Add the flour and the reserved 3/4 cup of ground or chopped praline, and beat on low speed just until incorporated

Step 17

17 Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape it into a disk

Step 18

18 Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (or overnight if desired)

Step 19

19 When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Step 20

20 Have two or three ungreased baking sheets at hand

Step 21

21 Roll out the dough between layers of plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/4 inch

Step 22

22 Use 2-inch cookie cutters to cut as many cookies as possible and arrange them on the baking sheets, 1 inch apart

Step 23

23 Gather up the remaining dough, roll it out and cut more cookies, repeating until all the dough is used

Step 24

24 Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the edges and firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking

Step 25

25 Cool the cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to cooling racks