Originally from Vienna, very elegant and a family favorite…
1/2 lb. (1 2/3 cups) blanched almonds (slivers or whole)
3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 lb or 2 1/3 cups bleached all purpose flour
6 oz. or 3/4 cup apricot jam
1/2 lb. semi-sweet chocolate morsels (Callebaut if possible, Hershey’s is okay)
1 tbsp. Crisco
2″ or 2 1/2″ round cookie cutter
Grind the nuts with sugar until very fine. Cut butter into the flour and nut mixture until it starts to clump. Smear with the heel of your hand until it can be pushed into a ball. OR mix butter and nut mixture for 1 minute and fold in the flour. divide into 2 portions and chill 10 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. more flour. Roll out between sheets of wax paper until 1/4″ thick, place on cookie sheets and chill for 1 hr or freeze for 30 minutes. Do not roll too thinly.
Line cold cookie sheets with parchment paper cut to size. Remover wax paper from one portion and cut out cookies close to each other and transfer to line cookie sheet 1″ apart. Reroll scraps. Bake on middle rack in a preheated 350F oven 10-12 minutes, tops should remain yellow, bottoms will be golden brown. Let cool before removing. Turn half the cookies over so that the bottoms are facing up. Heat the apricot jam until slightly warm and runny. Drop a small tsp of jam in the center of each cookie and over with another cookie, bottom to bottom. Press down gently. Jam should not reach the edge of the cookie.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler with crisco (for shine). Remove and tilt pot and dip each cookie top, cover only half way with chocolate. Lay on lined cookie sheet 1″ apart. Refrigerate to harden if you are in a warm country but that will reduce the gloss. Serve same day. Makes approximately 24-30 cookies.
(Marketman’s note: They sound absolutely fabulous. And while I have enjoyed them several times at Sister’s I have never made these myself… and I think I will attempt them for a Christmas Eve dinner this year.)
Recipe is Sister’s. Photo is Nephew’s.
21 Responses
WOW! Sounds so simple for something that sounds so yummy. Must try…
Will try this…yummmmyyyy…
Looks utterly delicious! Sidenote: The only downside of the holiday season is all that weight gain from feasting on yummy goodies such as what you posted, MM. But hey, eat, drink and be merry, right?
Almond, butter and chocolate are fabulous combination. I do not have much time to hone my cookie cutting skills but will Christmas just around the corner and Sister’s cookie recipe with succinct, precise, concise and exactamento baking instructions to start with. I will be like Speedy Gonzalez mixing, rolling, cutting and baking cookies this weekend. Another platter of goodies in my dining table. Yes, I see the point of Sister why she specifically asked for blanched almonds. Almonds with their skin on will give brown specks in the cookies. Thank you again Sister and MM for this fabulous cookie recipe.
I bought slivered almonds last weekend and somebody gifted my son with round cookie cutters (which are hard to find in Manila), then this fabulous recipe of Sister. Wow, I can feel cookieland is calling. Thanks so much to you both for your generosity. Time was when people are so protective of their successful recipes and now, who can remain like that? The net and blogs like yours have gone to the next higher level and left these kind of people in the dust. :)
I wish i had two more pairs of hands and there were 48 hours in a day.
So many many wonderful recipes to try, and so little time!!!! Waaaahhh!
Chocolate can also be melted in a microwave. Place chocolate and crisco in a small bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir. Heat another 30 seconds until just melted. If you do not have chocolate chips you can use a bar of semi-sweet chocolate cut into chunks before melting.
Food processor is the easiest way of grinding the nuts or use a nut grinder or buy almond flour.
Note:
If the dough seems too soft you can add only 2 tbsp. more flour, but remember it will stiffen considerably after being refrigerated which will make it very easy to cut the circles out and transfer to cookie sheet. Cookies will be very crumbly so allow to cool completely before assembling. You can bake the cookies two days ahead, store in tightly covered tin and assemble with jam and chocolate as necessary.
yehey!!!
hi sister,.. i am set to try bake your sugar cookies recipe.now, i’m confused.. i like to try this too! thanks for sharing your recipes and tips
My daughter will definetely like this one….she’s a fan of cookies with a chocolate. Thank you once again
SORRY! Life in the PI is getting more exciting.
thanks sister! will try to make this for my niece’s school party. btw, where do you buy your baking supplies(callebaut, almond flour, etc.) in nyc?
again thank you very much!
Ann, Lekvar by the Barrel is gone, it was baker’s paradise, so now I shop at a several places. Very best prices for good quality candied fruit and nuts, raisens, and spices is Sahadi on Atlantic Avenue in Brookyn. I seldom buy almond flour anymore because it is very easy to use a food processor or a hand held nut grinder. But nuts kill the blade of the processor, I have to buy a new blade every year (available at Zabar’s). Economy Candy on the LES is another good resource. For imported, top grade, very expensive European imports look up Paris Gourmet in NJ. Fairway on the west side is convenient for small amounts if you are living in that area.
My comment here does not belong here,it should be at the rhubard from Benguet.MM ,this site is so addicting that I can not keep up with my response.It must be senior moment!!!!
If only my father did not bring with him a lot of nicely boxed Silvanas home today, I might have made a batch of these delicious cookies this afternoon, modified a bit since I don’t have apricot jam.
Excuses, excuses, when is someone going to try any of the cookie recipes? It’s probably too late for Christmas 2008, but you have an entire year to practice before Christmas 2009 comes around. Baking requires a lot of dedication and it’s almost impossibe to make it perfectly the first time around.
If you do not have apricot jam, use mango, raspberry or even in a pinch, strawberry jam.
To all, a very happy holiday week.
Sister, I baked these cookies over the weekend – they are excellent. What I did, lined my baking pan with parchment paper and rolled out the dough in the baking pan itself, cut the dough and took out the scrap cuttings. I did this so there will be no moving of the cut dough. Thanks again.
Maria Clara. you made my day. I’m glad to hear the recipe worked out for you. Merry Christmas!
I’m having a difficult time melting chocolates. I tried first melting it in a bowl over simmering water but the chocolate separated from the oil. Then I tried the microwave but it got burnt. Sayang the chocolates…now I’m afraid to try!
Melting chocolate is easy, just make sure no water gets in it or it will “seize”, I just use a small heavy pot and hold it over very low heat and moving it off if it’s too hot- stir constantly to avoid burning. Buy good chocolate or coverture- callebaut or valrhona are too fairly widely distributed brands. Nestle melts into a very thick consistency.