Almond Bonbon Cookies

These cookies are a little more work to make, but they are totally worth it: both in taste and in looks! They are essentially balls of shortbread filled with a little ball of almond paste, which (for those who don't know about the magic qualities of almond paste) absolutely transforms this ball into an amazingly almondy ball of deliciousness. Sometimes the cookies slouch a little in the oven and turn out more like little lumps than balls (try double checking the oven temp), but they are still equally as delicious. Dipping in chocolate and sprinkling with almonds makes them look extra fancy.

RECIPE: Almond Bonbon Cookies
makes 28 cookies

INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
2.5 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup almond paste or marzipan*
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar*
1/2 cup soft, fresh bread crumbs
*if you use marzipan, omit the sugar from the filling

Glaze:
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Sliced almonds for topping, optional


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment, or leave unlined and ungreased.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter until light. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until fluffy. Add the flour and stir until a firm dough forms.

To make the filling, crumble the almond paste into a small bowl. Beat in teh butter, almond oil, and sugar. When the mixture is smooth, add the bread crumbs and mix until blended.

To shape the cookies, roll the filling into grape-sized balls. Break off a piece of dough teh size of a table tennis ball and use your thumn to make a deep indentation in teh center. place a ball of filling in the indentation, then bring the dough up an dover to enclose it, rolling it in your hands to make a smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough to make approximately 28 balls.

Place the bonbons on the prepared baking sheets and bake them for 14 minutes. They won't brown, which is ok. Let the bonbons cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes (they're quite fragile while hot) before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, melt chocolate chips in a microwave, a double boiler, or in a saucepan set over low heat. Top each with an almond slice or two, if desired. Let the bonbons sit for several hours until the glaze hardens, then store them in an airtight container.