As you can see by the picture, these cookies are far from those big wonderful chocolate chip cookies you find in the cookie jar. They are made up of 2 components, buttery shortbread and frangipane. Once the two cookies are sandwiched together, they are topped with almond slices and a glaceed cherry half. Then the bottoms are coated with white chocolate and colored sugar. All of that flavor is packed into a cookie that is only about 1 1/2 inches around.
In summation, you have something bite sized with a flaky texture from the cookie and chewiness from the frangipane. Then there are all the "extras" that come from the bottom coating and the topping. If this recipe appeals to you, please read all the tips and notes at the end which will help you to be successful in the kitchen. This recipe makes 2-2 1/2 dozen and uses ounces as a unit of measure.
Almond Frangipane Cookies
adapted from Dessert Professional
Ingredients/Butter Cookie
2 egg yolks
4.3 oz powdered sugar
6 oz unsalted butter (cut into cubes at room temp)
11.8 oz cake flour
Ingredients/Frangipane Filling
1 egg
4 oz almond paste
2 oz butter
.42 oz or 1 1/2 tsp of sugar
.17 oz or 1 tsp cake flour
Ingredients/Top and Bottom Coating
2.1 oz water
1 oz honey
2.7 oz sugar
3.5 oz white chocolate
4 oz sliced almonds
24 glaceed cherries (cut in half)
2.4 oz colored sugar
The first component to create are the cookies. Start by filling the bowl of a stand mixer with the butter and sift in the powdered sugar. Beat on medium high speed until fluffy, stopping at intervals to scrape down the sides. This should take about 3 minutes. Then beat in the egg yolks until fully blended, about 30 seconds. Fold in the flour in three increments.
Once the dough is created, take out plastic wrap and roll out onto a flat surface-about 2 feet long. Place the dough on the plastic wrap and form into a rectangle, cover and place in refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour.
During the chilling time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the interior of 2 small/ 12 cavity mini muffin tins or use non stick or silicon pans. Take this time to form the other components of the cookies. For the filling, place butter, sugar and almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at medium speed for a total of 15 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl every 5 minutes. Add the egg and blend in on low speed. Lastly, use a wooden spoon to blend in the flour. Set aside.
For the top coating, fill a saucepan with the honey, water and 2.7 oz sugar and place over medium high heat. Let the mixture come to a boil and let cook for about 1 minute. Let cool and pour in a small bowl and set this by the bowl of sliced almonds and the bowl of halved glaceed cherries.
Lightly dust a flat surface with flour and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll out into a square, about 1/8 inch thick. Place it on the prepared baking sheet and put in the oven and par-bake for about 4 minutes, or until edges have a golden hue. Remove the pan and start cutting out 1 1/2 inch rounds. Once all the dough has been cut, then the assembly can start. There should be a minimum of 48 rounds.
Stack the rounds together in pairs. Place one dough round from each pair into the muffin tin cavities. Spoon a dime sized amount of the frangipane filling on top. Then top with another round, pressing lightly to form a sandwich cookie. Place 3 or 4 almond slices decoratively on the surface of the cookie rounds and put a cherry half in the center (see picture). Brush lightly with honey glaze and place in oven to bake until golden. Cookies will take approximately 12-15 minutes to bake. Let cool in pans for about 2 minutes, then carefully use a spoon to scoop the cookie out. Place on cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the process of forming/baking/cooling until all cookie rounds are baked sandwich cookies.
For the bottom coating, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Set up a bowl by filling with the colored sugar. Take each cookie and carefully dip the bottom into chocolate, using a small spatula to scrape off any excess. Then dip chocolate coated side into colored sugar and place on parchment paper. Continue until all cookies have a bottom coat. Once the chocolate has completely set up, the cookies are ready to serve.
Tips and Notes:
1. There was too much filling left over, so try starting with half the recipe and then making more, if needed. The recipe suggests piping this onto the cookie, but I did not feel it was thick enough to be piped, so I used a spoon.
2. The glaze was too watery and did not add as much of a golden hue to the cookie when baked, so the recipe should be tweaked more-perhaps less water. Brushing on the glaze and keeping the almonds and cherry from moving was difficult, so I glazed the surface prior to adding the almonds and cherry. I just dipped the almonds in the glaze to put on top and did not due anything to coat the cherries.
3. I did not complete the bottom coating, so I have no comment on this component in regards to what it added to the cookie in flavor. I found the cookies without the bottom coating to be delicious without the added sweetness. Carefully consider the bottom coating. White chocolate is very sweet, so it may overpower the rest of the flavors of the cookie. The level of sweetness in any dessert is a personal preference.
4. Some of the frangipane filling ended up baking outside the edges of some of the cookies. If you notice this when removing the pans from the oven, use a butter knife to run around the outer edges of the cookies and then let cool.
5. The main idea for presentation is to make the top look like a flower with the almonds the petals and the cherry in the center. Due to the small size of the cookies and various sizes of sliced almonds, I chose just to do the three slices. How many slices you use is a personal preference.
**LAST YEAR: Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies**
