Almond Horn Cookies

The first time I made these cookies it was Passover and I was looking for something to make other than the usual macaroons. I found this recipe and gave it a try. I absolutely love these cookies and they are something I enjoy year round now. If you enjoy a strong almond flavor (like marzipan) you will enjoy these. You can find almond paste in the baking section of most larger grocery stores. The dough is very wet so it take a bit of getting used to working with it. The recipe is also very small, making about 10 cookies. This quantity often works for me, but I imagine it can be doubled fairly easily.

Recipe from Classic German Baking via Smitten Kitchen

Makes 10 cookies

7 ounces almond paste
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg white
2 pinches sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/4 cup sliced almonds
6 ounces semi sweet or bitter sweet chocolate chips/morsels (optional)

Preheat your over to 350F/176C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Prepare your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Cut, tear or grate the almond paste int to the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the sugar and cover the bowl with a dish towel (without the towel this gets messy once you turn on the mixer with pieces of sugar and paste flying out of the bowl). Beat on medium high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until the almond past can't be broken down any more. Beat in the egg white and salt until smooth.

Before your shape the cookies, place the almonds in a shallow bowl or plate with a large enough rim to keep the almonds on the plate. When working with the dough, make sure you wet your hands. The dough is sticky and will just stick to your hands otherwise. With your wet hands, pick up about 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it in to a 4-inch log (this took me a few cookies to get the hang of it). Drop the log into the almonds. Wipe your hands dry (otherwise the almonds will stick to you) and coat the log in almonds. Move the almond covered log and shape in to an arc before placing on the prepared baking sheet. Some almonds may fall off, but you can press them back on. Continue this with the remaining dough.

Bake cookies for 15 minutes, until the dough has puffed up and the almonds looks lightly toasted.

If using chocolate, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the ends of the cookies in to the chocolate and return to the parchment paper lined cookie sheet until the chocolate sets.

Once cooled, there can be stored for up to one week in an airtight container. Pin It Now!