I created these cookies for a Mother’s Day gift. My Mom is a master gardener and lover of almonds. She’s also my travel buddy. In 2018, we saw Vincent Van Gogh’s Almond Blossom painting in Amsterdam. This Spring, we planned to tip toe through the tulips in Holland and Belgium, but the trip was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Fingers crossed we get another opportunity to travel together.
2 ½ cups (300g) flour
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (142g) butter, softened
¼ cup (50g) sugar
2/3 cup (200g) marzipan, grated
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (50g) melting chocolate
Makes 2 dozen large cookies.
Whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it is pale in color.
Add the marzipan, egg yolk, almond and vanilla extracts. Beat well.
Gradually stir in the flour mixture until well combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm. At least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
The buttery dough can go on ungreased pans, but I like to line my baking sheets with parchment paper because it makes it easy to slide them off and clean-up is quick.
Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Put the other half back in the fridge until you need it.
Use cookie cutters to make shapes; place them on lined baking sheets. Chill cookies in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking to help cookies keep their shape.
Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Completely cool cookies on a wire rack.
Melt chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals stirring between each blast. Allow to cool slightly then pipe onto cookies.
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