I woke up this morning and my list of cookies has been completed. Almond Baskets belong to my very favourites. I remember I used to buy them in a small coffee shop when I was younger. Originally, they are made with walnuts, so this is smoother alternative. Fill them up and enjoy this small piece of heaven. Happy Holiday Season!
Shopping list
The Crust:
100g of plain flour, sifted
15g of icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
60g of butter, soft
1 yolk
The Almond Filling:
50g of white chocolate
50g of butter, soft
50g of ground almonds
The Chocolate Topping:
50g of good quality dark chocolate
20g of double cream
Whole peeled almonds to decorate
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl mix the flour, sugar and lemon zest. Stir gently.
Add yolk and butter. Knead the dough with hands until it becomes a smooth and homogeneous texture.
Put the dough into a plastic sandwich bag and place in a cold place for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the working place. Place the paper baskets into a 4 cm muffin form.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Take the dough out and break small equal pieces with hands. Create a small ball from each piece, smoothen into the sides of the paper baskets. Continue until the dough is gone.
Place the form in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes until baskets are lightly golden. Take them out and let them cool down completely.
Next, prepare The Filling and Topping.
In a steam bath melt the white chocolate and let it cool down for couple of minutes in a cold bath.
Then, stir in the butter in and whisk until nicely foamy.
Add almonds and gently mix with a spatula.
In a steam bath melt the dark chocolate by adding a bit of double cream to smoothen the texture. Constantly mix with a spatula until it becomes a shiny and smooth topping. Set aside.
Fill up a decoration bag with the white mix and nicely spiral good amount of it on the top of each basket.
Next, cover with The Chocolate Topping and place 1 almond on the top of each small dessert. Yummy!
Makes 15 small almond baskets.
