Ann Ferro: Sharing something wonderful

I came in to my office to edit my column, but the sun was shining. The darkness and pressure of a cloud filled day were gone and all of a sudden I wanted to share something that I consider wonderful. So here it is, a recipe for cookies that I baked and gave to my daughter’s in-laws in Cazenovia for Christmas.
It is simple but it does require one rather pricey ingredient, almond paste. It is available at Nojaim’s in Marcellus if you decide to make this “but better” sort of biscotti.
Ingredients: For cookies: 2 ¼ cups of flour. 1 teaspoon baking powder. ½ teaspoon fine salt. ½ teaspoon cinnamon. ½ cup almond paste. ¾ cup of sugar. 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature. 2 large eggs. For topping: ½ cup jam. 1 cup confectioners sugar. 4 Tablespoons milk.
A ruler will be a help as will a wooden spoon.
Prepare two baking sheets covered with parchment paper.
Directions: the original instructions call for the use of a food processor but you can use your stand mixer too: 1.Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a food processor, pulse almond paste and sugar until smooth. Add flour mixture and pulse until dough forms. Divide into 4 equal pieces, wrap each in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 10 in-long log ( measure to be sure). Transfer the logs to 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten each log to about 2 inches across. (Measure to be sure). Bake until just dry, about 12-15 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and with the handle of the wooden spoon, gently make a trench down the middle of each log. Spread 2 Tablespoons jam into each trench. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let the logs cool on the parchment sheets on wire racks.
4. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the logs. Let glaze harden 20 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1 inch slices.
These can be stored in air tight containers for 1 week. …. but if they last a day, you will be lucky.
I rarely use my food processor, but I did drag it out, clean it up and make these, not once, but many times during the holidays. I ate a lot of them myself. I did make them with my stand mixer too when I was too tired to get the food processor out again. They turned out just as “more”.
The drear will be back soon, but now you have this recipe that is sure to bring sun back into the kitchen and pound or two to whomever eats the first one.