Recipe - Marias Ischli Cookies (Mf)

One fourth pound Almonds or hazelnuts, finely
ground
One half pound Butter, at room temperature
One fourth pound Sugar
One half pound Flour
Seedless raspberrry
preserves
chocolate icing
One fourth pound Bittersweet chocolate melted
One fourth cup Water
3 tablespoon Superfine sugar
1 teaspoon Instant espresso coffee
1 tablespoon Butter

If you cannot buy nuts already ground, then grind them in a food processor,
taking care not to overprocess them or they will turn oily; you can also
process them with the sugar to prevent them from turning oily.

(Note if you are working with whole hazelnuts, toast them first in a 400
degree oven, rub off skins, let cool and then grind.)

Combine the nuts with the butter, sugar and flour; you will have to combine
this dough with your hands; if a bit too dry, add drops of lemon juice or
rum. Form dough into a roll 1 1 /4inches thick. Refrigerate overnight in
waxed paper or parchment.

Following day preheat the oven to 350 degrees. cut dough into 1/4inch
slices and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until
golden. Remove from oven and cool cookies on a rack.

When cooled to room temperature, sandwich two cookies together with
raspberry jam and spread some of the chocolate icing (see below) over the
top cookie. For a pretty presentation, set them in fluted paper cups.

Yield: 2 dozen

CHOCOLATE ICING

Melt chocolate with water and sugar. When melted, add instant coffee and
cook over very low heat for 5 minutes. Turn heat off, add butter and let
icing cool to room temperature. (Don't let it get too firm or it will be
hard to spread over cookies.)

Yield: 1 One half cups

Copyright, 1997, TV FOOD NETWORK, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Recipe by: TVFN: COOKING MONDAY TO FRIDAY SHOW #MF6757 Posted to MCRecipe
Digest V1 #623 by 4paws@netrax.net (ShermeyerGail) on May 29, 1997