As I mentioned yesterday, I was heading off to my fourthparty of the season. Conny has hosteda cookie exchange for several years (last year she was off in Europe, so we allmissed out). She makes cookies forthe exchange, but she also serves some nice savory dishes to balance out thesweet cookies. A couple of year’sago, she served Crostini with Mushrooms and Prosciutto for her cookie exchange. She keepsall of her December magazines, so she can have party recipes at her fingertips.This year, she had the non-bakers in the group bring the appetizers, and sheserved Pomegranate Blood Orange Mimosas as her signature drink. I only saw a quick glimpse of the recipe, but I think this one is close. I had a blast last night. I love seeing everyone’s cookies and hearing the storiesbehind some of them. Whatcould be more fun than sipping mimosas, munching cookies and chatting withfriends? If you figure it out letme know.
My contribution to this year’s cookie exchange was AlmondChocolate Thumbprints. I foundthis recipe in The Best of Fine Cooking Cookies magazine. Thanks to Conny, I now keep all myholiday magazines, and I’ve enjoy flipping through them deciding what I’m goingto make. This is the firstyear the Almond Chocolate Thumbprints called to me. I’m glad I finally made them. I love the sandy texture of these cookies, and the chocolatefilling is rich and delicious in these tempting cookies. The recipe is one of those 3 in 1cookie dough recipes, so I made a little extra of the Almond Cookie dough totry one of the other recipes. I’mhoping the Almond Sables will be equally as good.
Almond Cookie Chocolate Thumbprints
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Printable Recipe ½ cup granulated sugar½ teaspoon salt¾ cup whole almonds1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), cut in large chunks andslightly softened4 teaspoons vanilla extract¼ teaspoon pure almond extract3 cups all-purpose flour¾ cups turbinado (raw) sugar8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped3 tablespoons unsalted butter
In the bowl of a food processor, process the sugar and saltuntil it looks powdery and fine, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the almonds, and process until they are finely chopped,20 to 30 seconds. Add the butter,vanilla and almond extract. Pulseuntil the butter is fully incorporated and smooth, scrapping the sides of thebowl, if necessary. Add half theflour and process until incorporated, and then add the second half of the flourand process until a soft dough forms.
Using a small scoop to measure the dough, roll the doughinto one-inch balls. Roll the ballsinto the turbinado sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchmentpaper. Press your thumb into eachball, dipping your thumb in flour as needed. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or preferablyovernight.
Remove the cookies from the refrigerator, and arrange them 1inch apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Let the cookies sit at room temperature while the ovenpreheats. Bake the cookies for 10minutes. Gently press the centerof the cookies with the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon to redefine thedepression. Rotate the cookie sheet and continue to bake until the tops of thecookies are lightly colored and the bottoms are golden brown, another 8 to 10minutes. Transfer the cookies to awire cooling rack and let cool completely.
Make the filling while the cookies cool. Add the chocolate and butter to aheatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is almostmelted. Remove from heat and continuestirring until the mixture has completely melted and is smooth. Spoon the filling into the depressionof each cookie. Makes about 5dozen cookies.
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