Marcona almond and orange thumbprint cookies

Marcona Almond and Orange Thumbprint Cookies

PersonalPoints™ per serving

Total Time: 3 hr 25 min

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 10 min

Serves: 48

Moderate

These cookies are a wonderful combination of salty and sweet. Marcona almonds, a specialty product of Spain, are rounder, softer, and plumper than the almonds we are used to and have a sweeter flavor. They often appear on charcuterie boards,

but we’ve used them here to take these thumbprint cookies to the next level.

The almonds are finely chopped in a food processor and incorporated into the

dough, lending their unique taste and texture to the entire cookie. The orange marmalade spooned into the indentations complements their flavor. You can

substitute strawberry, blackberry, or raspberry jam for the marmalade, if you like,

or use a combination to create a colorful mix.

Ingredients

⅔ cup Marcona almonds, plain, dry-roasted
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp table salt
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ tsp almond extract
⅓ cup orange marmalade

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped (or chop by hand). In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup chopped almonds, flour, baking soda, ginger and salt; set aside remaining almonds in a shallow bowl.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream both types of sugar and butter together. Add egg and almond extract; beat until fluffy. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
Scoop out dough using a teaspoon measure and roll into 48 balls (about 9 gm each); gently roll each dough ball in reserved chopped almonds. Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Remove pans from oven and using the end of a wooden spoon, press a small indentation in the center of each cookie. Return pans to oven and bake until lightly browned and set, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and fill each cookie with 1/4 teaspoon marmalade. Let cool. Yields 1 cookie per serving.