Decadent Chocolate Almond Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I took on the challenge of making a chocolate peppermint ice cream pie (there’s none left!).

At the end of that recipe I mentioned the idea of playing with the chocolate crust (which is both easy to make and tasty). And I couldn’t forget the idea of doing something different with it.

But what? I started exploring my crowded pantry closet to see what I had to work with. Hmm, almond paste, chopped almonds, white chocolate chips, chocolate nibs . . . Voila, I have invented a new cookie! (No, I did not go hunting in my cookbooks.)

The ingredients for the bottom crust are the same as for the earlier pie, save that I added half a cup on the finely chopped almonds to give the bottom layer a bit of crunch.

First Layer (the crust):

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tblsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tblsp sugar

½ cup finely chopped blanched almonds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 Tblsp vegetable shortening (like Crisco)

1 large egg yolk

2-3 Tblsp ice water

Instructions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, chopped almonds and salt and blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like large crumbs (a few seconds).

Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse until the dough forms a ball.

On a lightly floured board, flatten the dough then roll out into a round disk about 1/4 inch thick. (This is really easy to roll out!)

I’ve been collecting baking tins for years. For this recipe, I chose a muffin tin (more or less) with room for 12 cakes/cookies. After rolling the dough I cut 12 circles, which would fit neatly in the muffin cups. 

I oiled the cups of the pan and pressed the dough into it. Then I baked this layer in a 350-degree preheated oven for about 5 minutes—just enough to firm it up.

Now on to the new part!

The second layer is pure marzipan. I rolled it out thinly, then cut circles only slightly smaller than the chocolate circles, and pressed them over the chocolate.

Third layer: white chocolate chips, scattered randomly over the top in a single layer.

Fourth layer: small chocolate nibs (I couldn’t even remember why I had those), scattered over the white chocolate (not too thickly).

Then I returned the cookies to the already-heated oven and baked for another 5-10 minutes. The chips should turn a little brown, but not too much, and the bottom crust will remain a bit chewy.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool partially before removing the cookies from the pan and letting them cool on a wire rack. Use a slender spatula and they come out easily.

Definitely decadent!