Italian Almond Cookies with Bittersweet Chocolate

I wanted to make a cookie using almond paste, these turned out to taste like an almond delight. Between the almond paste, almond extract and, of course, the almonds nut slices, it is just chucked full of almond taste.

My hardest decision was to make it gluten-free or not. I decided on the gluten-free. I do not make many cookies that are gluten-free but decided to test the different flours out there to see which one would work the best for this cookie.

Ingredients

Cookies

• Almond paste
• Sugar white
• Powdered sugar
• Egg whites
• Flour gluten-free
• Kosher salt
• Almond extract
• Vanilla extract
• Almonds sliced

Topping

• Bittersweet chocolate chips
• Almonds chopped

Gluten Free Flour

This was my biggest pain!!!! My education started with the fact that gluten-free flour was different with each maker. The blends were different, so the weights were different. I made one batch, and they came out dry and hard. I thought, what the heck? The amount turned out to be the same weight as a full cup of flour. Crap!

So, I investigated the different brands and weights to see if I could get a handle on this. After testing and baking with several brands, I liked the King Authur's Measure for Measure. It worked well with the almond paste and egg whites.

I like the fact that the weight for my regular King Authur all-purpose flour was the same as their Measure for Measure gluten-free flour. I love that. The cookies came out a little crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle. Just what I wanted.

Almond Paste

I made my first couple of batches of cookies with Odense Almond Paste and then the last few with Solo Almond Paste. To me, the taste was very similar. But I found the Solo was a little softer and easier to break into really small pieces. I don't think you can go wrong with either brand. The weights are a little different, so just make sure you look at the box.

Making Almond Paste Cookies

You have two options for mixing the almond paste, sugars and flour mixture. I was lazy today and did not feel like getting my food processor out, so I used my mixer. It takes longer using the mixer, but you will get the same results.

Prepping

Weigh or measure the sugars into a bowl and set it aside. Weigh or measure the flour into another bowl and set it aside.

Mixing the Dry Ingredients

In a mixer, break the almond paste up into small pieces. The smaller the pieces, the less time to mix it to a sand consistency. Add the sugars and put the mixer speed at a medium low speed. If you try to turn the mixer speed higher, it will spray sugar and almond paste pieces all over your counter.

After most of the sugar and almond paste have been mixed, add the flour. This takes all together about 10 to 15 minutes for the almond paste, sugars and the flour to become small pieces like sand. Place this in a bowl for later.

Egg Whites

I use a three-bowl system when I am separating egg whites from the yolks. There are a lot of different egg separators out there, and you can usually find them pretty cheap at your local grocery store.

I usually have an extra egg on hand just in case. Divide the egg in bowl 1. Add the yolk to bowl 2 and the white to bowl 3. Then start with the next egg. This way when you are separating the egg in bowl 1 and the yolk breaks, you can put it in bowl 2 and clean out bowl 1 and start again. The whites in bowl 3 are for whites only.

Now, after cleaning your mixer bowl from the almond paste mixture, add the egg whites. Whip them on high for 3 minutes.

This is how fluffy the egg whites get. I just tap the whipping attachment against the rim of the mixing bowl, so all the egg whites go into the bowl.

Add about half of the almond paste mixture to the egg whites and fold them together. Then add the remaining mixture until it is incorporated.

Make sure the almond mixture and egg whites are totally mixed. Loosely wrap the bowl and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper.

I use a medium size cookie scooper to scoop out one cookie. Roll the cookie dough into a ball. It will be tacky. If your hands pick up the cookie dough, just rinse with water once in a while.

I take two fingers and lightly press down on each of the cookie balls. This just flattens the cookie slightly so they do not roll, and you can add the almond slices.

Press the almond slice down just a little. They will stick to the cookie during the baking. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Monitor them. You don't want to over bake the cookies.

Adding Chocolate Drizzle and Almonds

Add the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Take out the bowl from the microwave and stir. The chips will be just beginning to melt. Heat for another 30 seconds and stir again. Heat for another 10 to 15 seconds and stir. After stirring for about 15 seconds, most of the chips have melted. Just stir for another 30 seconds and you should have a smooth chocolate.

I rough chop the almonds. You can chop them into whatever size you like. I don't make them too small since I want them to be decoration along with the crunch of the almonds.

I put parchment paper under my cooling rack full of cookies, so I don't get chocolate everywhere. This makes for easy cleanup.

I take a spoon and hold over the cookies, moving the spoon back and forth to form the drizzle.

Then add the chopped almonds on top of the chocolate drizzle. These chocolate chips are not like coating chocolate that hardens in a short time. These take a good hour.

Enjoy!

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