Friends don't leave friends a tube of almond paste.

"What?", you say.

Someone left a tube of almond paste in my fridge. I don't know who. Maybe a friend, maybe my mom, maybe Julian's babysitter. But somebody left a tube of almond paste in my fridge. And it's been there for a while... Like at least three weeks. And nobody claimed it, so because I can't stand waste (and I'm currently trying to eat through the contents of our apartment so we won't have to pack it up when we move) I looked up a cookie recipe I could make with Jules that would involve almond paste. And boy, did I find one.

As a side note: This recipe is perfect for making with children, because there's a lot of "rolling into balls" and then "squishing flat!" The squishing flat part was particularly popular with Jules.

ALMOND PILLOW COOKIES

 

INGREDIENTS

Cookie

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1 8 oz can almond paste
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons almond extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl. Mix in egg yolk, milk and almond extract. Blend in the flour a little at a time, until well combined and chunky. Cover an place in refrigerator to cool.
3. In a mixing bowl combine all filling ingredients. Beat until well combined and the mixture comes together.
4. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop balls of the cookie dough. Roll and flatten the balls in the palm of your hand. Take a scant tablespoon of filling (or 5 oz) roll in a ball and place in the middle of the cookie dough. Wrap the cookie dough around the filling and roll until even. Place ball on parchment lined sheet pan and press flat with the palm of your hand. If you want clean edges use a round cookie cutter to clean the edges. Repeat with the remaining dough.
5. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies you don't want them to brown.
6. Let cook on cookie sheet, dust with powdered sugar. Serve.

I followed this recipe to the letter, and these guys are off-the-hook. They're soft and chewy on the inside, but taste more like almond-infused short bread around the edges. These are highly recommended, especially if you find a tube of almond paste in your fridge.