(Intro by The Baker's Daughter) As you may have read on this site, I was the very happy recipient of a copy of Susie Fishbein’s latest addition to the Kosher by Design series, “cooking coach”. I mentioned how much I enjoyed this book, but the real treat for me was the dessert section. There is not a recipe there that didn’t call my name (well, perhaps the Thai sticky rice not as much – maybe one day when I am feeling very adventurous).
Since this column is about cookies, I thought I’d try one of those first.
The almond thumbprint cookies are a cinch to make, look really presentable and taste delicious. I was curious if they might appeal to more mature palettes because of the almonds in it, but my batch lasted about a day and a half, and only 3 were consumed by adults.
Now, I just have to figure out whether to try the strawberry meringue bars or chocolate mint cookies next. Oh, if only all my worries were so great!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole almonds, not roasted or salted (I did use roasted and loved them anyway)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. Almond extract
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
Chocolate Filling:
3 oz. Good quality chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Place the almonds, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal “S” blade. Pulse until very finely ground.,
3. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, pulse 2-3 times. Add the butter and pulse until evenly mixed. Add the flour and pulse until a smooth dough forms. You will need to scrape down the bowl a few times.
4. Scoop the dough by level tablespoons and roll each into a smooth ball. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Using a rounded teaspoon measure or your thumb, create a depression in each dough ball to flatten the dough and to make a well that will hold the chocolate.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and re-press each indentation. Return tray to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool completely.
6. Place the chocolate and butter into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high power, using 20 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until completely melted. Using a spoon, fill the cookie indentations. Allow to harden slightly. Store the cookies in the refrigerator but serve at room temperature.
Note from The Baker's Daughter:
I found I needed 1 ½ times the chocolate filling to fill 30 cookies.
This recipe is exerpted from Susie Fishbein's new book, Cooking Coach. Read our review and see more recipes here!
To Purchase click here: Kosher By Design Cooking Coach: Recipes, tips and techniques to make anyone a better cook
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