Almond Cookies

300 g flour
180 g butter
60 g almonds, skins removed and finely grounded
120 g powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
180 ml heavy cream
200 g dark chocolate
200 g raspberries
a pinch of salt

Sift the flour, add salt, almonds, sugar, butter and make a crumble with the dough. Quickly knead in egg yolks, roll the dough into cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Mix heavy cream with diced chocolate and cook in a double boiler, until the chocolate melts. let it cool, and then put it in the fridge.

Flatten the dough to the height of 0.5 cm. Cut out the shapes with a (flower) cookie mold. This makes about 40 6 cm diameter flowers. With a smaller mold, make a hole on the half of the shapes.

Bake cookies in a preheated oven on 160°C for about 15 minutes (or until they’re done).

With a hand mixer, beat the chilled chocolate cream, spread it over uncut cookies, line raspberries over, and cover with cookies with hole. You can even pipe some more cream through the hole on the cookie.

Note: I made these cookies as a part of Sale & Pepe Tasting Team for July-August 2008 issue.