ALMOND THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Almond Thumbprint Cookies image

Yield Makes about 30

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 cup whole almonds, toasted, cooled (about 5 ounces)
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (about) apricot or peach preserves

Steps:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Blend 1 cup toasted almonds and 2/3 cup golden brown sugar in processor until almonds are finely chopped. Blend in flour and salt. Add butter and process using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk egg yolk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl to blend. Add mixture to processor and blend until moist clumps form. Transfer dough to bowl. Knead briefly in bowl to bind dough. Form dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place balls on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Using thumb, make deep indentation in center of each ball (if edges crack, push together to smooth).
Bake cookies until firm to touch and golden on bottom, about 15 minutes (indentations will close up slightly). Remove from oven. Using back of small spoon, immediately press indentation of each cookie to enlarge. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. Spoon generous 1/2 teaspoon preserves into indentation of each cookie. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container at room temperature. Cookies will soften slightly.)