Almond Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Filling

I love sandwich cookies, which are probably the most versatile cookies there is. These sandwich cookies combine almond and chocolate, and are simply delicious and easy to make.

Photo: Natalie Levin

Almond Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Filling

25-30 sandwich cookies

For the almond cookies:
210 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
100 grams (1 cup) almond meal
200 grams cold butter, cut into cubes
70 grams (2/3 cup) sugar powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. amaretto liqueur or brandy

For chocolate filling:
125 grams dark chocolate, chopped
125 ml. (1/2 cup) heavy cream
1 tsp. honey

Some light brown sugar to sprinkle over the cookies

Preparation:

Cookies: in a food processor with a steel blade, put flour, almond meal, butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla and blend until a crumbly mixture is obtained.
Add in the yolks and the liqueur and continue to blend until large chunks of dough form.
Bring the dough together with your hands and flatten it to a disc shape. Wrap in a plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 170c degrees.
On a floured surface, roll the dough about 3-4 mm thick and cut out round cookies (about 3-4 cm in diameter) and place on a baking pan lined with baking paper.
Sprinkle some brown sugar over the cookies.
Bake the cookies for 9-13 minutes, or until golden and set. Cool completely.
Chocolate filling: chop the bitter chocolate and place in a medium bowl.
In a small pot, put cream and honey and bring to the boil.
Pour the cream over the chocolate, wait about a minute and stir until you get a rich, shiny ganache.
Cool the ganache at room temperature for about 3 hours until it stabilizes.
When the ganache is stable, mix it well until it is creamy and smooth.
Fill half the cookies with about 1 teaspoon of chocolate cream and close with another cookie to form a sandwich.

Notes:

You can add flavors to ganache: cardamom, berries extract, cinnamon, and any other spices that you like.
You can fill the cookies with any other filling you like.
Keep the cookies in a closed jar for up to a week.