Nut and Spice Cookie Recipes -
Spiced Almond
Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups/300 g
allpurpose/plain flour
1 tsp baking
powder
1 tsp ground
cinnamon
1/2 tsp
allspice
1/4 tsp
ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2
cups/300 g granulated sugar
2 1/2
cups/350 g ground almonds
4 oz/125 g
semisweet/dark chocolate, grated
1/2 cup/50 g
finely chopped candied lemon peel
1/2 cup/50 g
finely chopped candied orange peel
1 tsp finely
grated lemon zest
CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
7 oz/200 g
semisweet/dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp warm
water
2 tbsp butter
Method:
Sift the
flour, baking power, cinnamon, allspice, cloves,
and salt into a medium bowl. Beat the eggs and
sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at
high speed until very pale and thick.
Mix in the
dry ingredients, almonds, chocolate, candied
lemon and orange peel, and lemon zest to form a
smooth dough. Press the dough into a disk, wrap
in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the
oven to 325°F/170°C/gas 3. Line three cookie
sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough
on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of
1/4 inch (5 mm).
Cut into
2-inch (5 cm) squares and triangles. Gather the
dough scraps, re-roll, and continue cutting out
cookies until all the dough is used.
Use a spatula
to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie
sheets, placing them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.
Bake, one
sheet at a time, for 12-15 minutes, or until the
edges are firm and the bottoms are lightly
browned. Transfer to racks to cool.
Chocolate
Glaze: Melt the chocolate with the water in a
double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir
in the butter until smooth.
Drizzle the
glaze over the cookies and let stand on
parchment paper for 30 minutes until completely
set.