Prep Time: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Cook Time: 4 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground almonds
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 -1 cup water
- 1 small potato
- gtrated peel of 1 lemon
- 3-4 drops lemon juice
- Toppings:
- pine nuts
- sweetened cocoa powder
- candied fruit
- Flavorings:
- instant coffee powder
- coconut flakes
Preparation:
Makes approximately 32 cookies.
Blanch almonds, then grind in food processor until almonds are a fine dust.
Peel the potato and cut into quarters. Boil potato in a saucepan until cooked. Drain water and mash with a fork.
Place sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and stir to dissolve sugar. Add more water to completely dissolve sugar if necessary. Place on medium heat on stovetop and bring to a boil, stirring often. Add 3-4 drops of lemon juice. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is a thick syrup.
Remove saucepan from heat. Using a large wooden spoon, gradually stir in ground almonds, potato and grated lemon peel. Allow to cool to room temperature. Then, refrigerate overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 380F degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Spoon out dough with a teaspoon. Roll dough into small balls in your palms. Then roll the balls in powdered cocoa or pine nuts. If using pine nuts, brush each with a bit of egg white. Place on greased cookie sheet.
If you want to flavor the cookies, separate a portion of the dough and with your hands, work in a bit of instant coffee flakes, candied fruit or cinnamon. Then make individual balls.
Bake cookies just long enough to brown the pine nuts - about 4 minutes. Remove immediately using a spatula before cookies cool.
For easy step-by-step instructions on blanching almonds, read About.com Greek Food Guide's, How to Make Blanched Almonds.
