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1
Put flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, almond extract and egg into large bowl of an electric mixer.
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2
Mix together, using low speed.
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3
Dough will be crumbly.
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4
Then knead dough with hands until mixture holds together.
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5
Remove 13 cup of the dough; wrap and refrigerate.
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6
Divide remaining dough in thirds.
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7
Using hands, roll each into a 6-inch log.
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8
Put sugar crystals on a sheet of wax paper.
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9
Roll each log in the sugar crystals to coat well; use the wax paper as a guide to press in crystals.
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10
Shape each log into a triangle, pressing gently on wax paper to give three sharp corners.
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11
Make sure to make 2 sides longer than the third side.
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12
Wrap each log well and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice.
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13
To this point, cookies can be made up to a week in advance.
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14
Heat oven to 350F (180C).
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15
To bake, slice logs crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.
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16
Put slices about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
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17
For each cookie, shape about 1/2 teaspoon of the reserved 13 cup dough into a tree trunk.
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18
Attach to bottom underside of each tree.
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19
Sprinkle each cookie lightly with candy decorations, if desired.
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20
Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
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21
Carefully remove to wire racks.
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22
Cool completely.
