The recipe that I made to get my first job as a Pastry Chef. These are irresistable, slightly soft in the center, and a bit crisp on the outside.  The dough is quite stiff.  If you underfill your piping bag that will help.   Dip them in chocolate and nuts, or top with a piece of glacé fruit (I like cherries) to make them extra special and impressive.  

Yield: 12 dozen cookies

Ingredients

6 oz Almond paste

7 1/2 oz sugar

2-3 oz egg whites

15 oz soft butter

12 oz cake flour

6 oz APF (all-purpose flour)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp almond extract

To make:

1. Mix almond paste, sugar, and 2 oz of whites together in a stand mixer with paddle.
2. Add butter in all at once and mix until well blended.
3. Sift flours and add to mixture along with the salt
4. Add extracts
5. Try piping out some of the batter, if it is too hard to pipe then add a bit more egg white.

Piping/Baking:

1. Using a star tip and piping bag pipe into one of the shapes below (or make up your own) onto a lined baking sheet.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are barely starting to brown.

Finishing:

1. Decorate
   • Wheels: place a glacé cherry in the center and drizzle with white chocolate
   • Shells: I like to sandwich the them together with chocolate and then dip the tips in chocolate and then chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios, or pecans.
   • Curved shells: Dip the ends in chocolate and nuts.
   • Sticks: Drizzle with dark chocolate

Enjoy!