Moroccan Almond Ghriba Crackle Cookies

What you need

• 500 g (5 cups) ground almonds, from blanched almonds
• 250 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
• 1 orange, zest only, or lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 30 g (2 tbsp) butter, melted
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 50 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar, for coating
• 24 whole blanched almonds, optional, for topping

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) and line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, stir together the almonds, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and the zest of the orange.

3. 3

   Add the eggs, melted butter and orange blossom water and work everything together with a spatula or your hands into a soft, slightly sticky paste.

4. 4

   Tip the powdered sugar into a shallow dish.

5. 5

   Roll the paste into 24 balls of about 35 g each. Roll each ball in the powdered sugar until thickly coated, without shaking off the excess.

6. 6

   Set the balls on the sheets 5 cm (2 in) apart and flatten each top just slightly with a fingertip. Press a whole almond into the centre of each, if using.

7. 7

   Bake one sheet at a time until the coating has cracked into a crackle pattern and the bases are barely golden, 12-15 min. They should still feel soft in the centre.

8. 8

   Leave on the sheet for 10 min to firm up, then move to a rack to cool completely. Store airtight for up to a week.

Imported from la-cuisine-marocaine.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.