Strawberry Almond Rounds and Apricot Almond Triangles Recipe by Mangia
Strawberry Almond Rounds and Apricot Almond Triangles
These are beautiful party cookies and a delicious challenge for the experienced cook or cookie maker. The effort, including two different baking’s, will be worth it when you see just how lovely looking (and tasting) these are when finished. Delicate hazelnut dough cutouts are topped with strawberry or apricot preserves, ringed with piped almond paste, and then drizzled with melted chocolate. You have several options for making these: You can make 6 dozen of the same cookie; make the same cookie two different ways, varying the shape and filling; or bake half the recipe, freezing the remaining dough for another time. If you are new to making elaborate, multistep cookies, the last option may be the one to begin with.To make the full recipe, about 70 cookies, you will need 3 or 4 large baking sheets, some parchment paper, and plenty of time. A final reminder: If you are making only half the recipe, remember to halve the almond topping and filling measurements as well.
Ingredients
FOR THE HAZELNUT DOUGH
- 1 ¼ cups whole hazelnuts toasted and skinned
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ pound which is 3 sticks of cold unsalted butter
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Parchment paper for baking the cookies
FOR THE ALMOND TOPPING
- 1 pound almond paste do not use marzipan
- 6 large egg whites
- FOR THE FILLING
- 1 cup strawberry preserves at room temperature
- 1 cup apricot preserves at room temperature
- Or 2 cups fruit preserves of your choice
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GARNISH
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- Make the hazelnut dough: Place the toasted and skinned hazelnuts in a food processor. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the processor. Add the flour. Pulse, using the on/off button, until the nuts are very finely ground. Add the butter and process until crumbly.
- Combine the egg yolks and cream in a cup.
- With the motor running, pour the egg mixture through the feed tube and process until the dough starts to come together. Do not overmix. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for 1 hour.
- Make the almond topping: In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, blend chunks of almond paste with the egg whites, adding one egg white at a time until well mixed and creamy. Continue to add almond paste and egg whites until you have the amount of topping you need and its texture is suitable for piping.
- Prepare the filling: Place each fruit preserve in a separate bowl and whisk with a fork to lighten.
- Position the oven racks in the middle and lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 4 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the hazelnut dough into thirds, and work with only one piece at a time, keeping the remaining pieces refrigerated. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 8 inch thick. With a 2 ¼ -inch round cutter or a 2 ¼-inch triangular cutter, or both, cut out cookies and place them, 1 inch apart, on the lined cookie sheets. Slide the cookie sheets onto the racks, placing 1 sheet above and 2 on the rack below. Hold the remaining cookie sheet in the refrigerator until the first batch of cookies is removed from the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the sheets between the racks halfway through the baking time and turning them front to back, as well. Remove from the oven, but do not remove the cookies from the cookie sheets. Bake the remaining cookies in the same manner.
- Gather the scraps, knead them into a ball, and refrigerate until chilled before rolling again. Reroll only once, or the dough will be tough. Continue to roll out dough, one piece at a time, cut out cookies, and bake them. (You now have all the bases of the cookies, half cut into rounds, the other half into triangles, semi baked.)
- Fill a medium pastry bag fitted with a ¼ -inch tip with the almond paste. Pipe an edge all the way around the tops of the baked cookies, leaving the centers empty.
- Spoon a dollop of preserves into the center of each cookie.
- Bake the cookies for approximately 20 minutes, until golden. Cool on the cookie sheets, set on racks, for 10 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, make the chocolate garnish: In the top of a small double boiler, melt the chocolate, stirring, until smooth. Keep the chocolate warm.
- Dip a fork into the hot melted chocolate and hold it over the cookies, letting the chocolate drip over them in streaks. Let the cookies dry a bit before you serve, or store them in airtight containers.
