Almond Thumbprint Cookies

These are easy to make and not so much time consuming cookies from Gourmet., which are supposed to be Passover cookies, but who cares. I like them anytime:)

There isn't really anything you change with this recipe. You might want to use whole almonds instead of jam if you want a different taste. They come out pretty good.

You can toast nuts in a shallow baking pan in a 350° F oven until golden, 5 to 15 minutes. Enjoy:)

ALMOND THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup matzo cake meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
About 2 tablespoons fruit jam, such as raspberry, strawberry, or apricot

Directions:
Pulse almonds, sugar, matzo cake meal, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. (Be careful not to grind to a paste.) Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter, egg, and extracts until combined well. Chill dough, covered, until firm, about 30 minutes.

While dough chills, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Drop level tablespoons of dough 1 inch apart onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. Roll dough into balls, then chill until slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

Make a 1/2-inch-wide (1/3-inch-deep) indentation in center of each ball using your thumb, index finger, or the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Fill each indentation with 1/4 teaspoon jam and bake, 1 sheet at a time, until tops are pale golden and undersides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a rack and cool completely.

Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Jumbo Black Bottom Coconut Macaroons

I don't remember where or when I made a note of this recipe, but these macaroons will end your quest for thick mounds of moist-on-the-inside and crisp-on-the-outside coconut macaroons. Dipping the cookie bottoms in chocolate coating is a simple step that adds a professional look to the cookies.

If you want to you can skip the almond extract and use coconut extract. To me it tastes better.

These also make great holiday gift cookies. Who doesn't love coconut with chocolate?:)

JUMBO BLACK BOTTOM COCONUT MACAROONS

Ingredients:
Cookies:
One 7-ounce bag (2 2/3 cups) shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon sugar

Chocolate Coating:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon canola or corn oil

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Make the cookies. In a large bowl, use a fork to stir the coconut, condensed milk, salt, almond extract and vanilla together. Set aside.

In an impeccably clean medium bowl, use a whisk or a hand-held mixer on low speed to beat the egg white with the cream of tartar until they are foamy and the cream of tartar dissolves. Whisking vigorously or beating on medium-high speed, beat until soft peaks form. Whisk or beat in the sugar. Use a rubber spatula to fold half of the whipped egg white in the coconut mixture, then fold in the remaining white.

Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the coconut batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the macaroons 2 inches apart.

Bake until the bottoms of the cookies and the tips of the coconut shreds are light brown, about 17 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then slide a metal spatula under the macaroons to loosen them from the parchment and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the chocolate coating. Put the chocolate and oil in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and let cool and thicken slightly, about 10 minutes.

Scrape the chocolate coating into a small bowl. Dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate and place the cookies, chocolate bottoms up or on the sides, on a wire rack. (You will have some chocolate coating left over for another use or to pour over ice cream. It's easier to dip using a larger amount of coating.) Let the macaroons sit at room temperature until the chocolate coating is firm, about 1 hour.

Or, to speed the firming of the chocolate, refrigerate the macaroons on the rack for about 15 minutes. Serve cold or at room temperature.

The cookies can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.