Ischlers Recipes

Steps:

• Pulse almonds and sugar in a food processor until the texture of coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl. Pulse flour and butter in food processor until the consistency of coarse meal. Add yolks and lemon juice; pulse. Add almond mixture and lemon zest and pulse until dough comes together. Remove from processor and knead once or twice to combine. Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut rounds and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown on edges, about 18 minutes. Let cool.
• While cookies are baking, bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes; stir until smooth. Let cool. Whisk until thick.
• Spread 1 teaspoon jam onto one cookie, then sandwich with a second cookie. Spread with a bit of ganache on top. Chill before serving.

Steps:

• Grate almonds using nut grater.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with flat beater, beat almonds, powdered sugar, and butter until fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat until blended.
• Whisk together flour and salt. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until incorporated and dough begins to come away from sides of bowl.
• Scrape mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove dough from bag and transfer to a large sheet of plastic wrap. Use the edges of the wrap to knead dough until smooth.
• Divide dough into quarters. Wrap with plastic and flatten into disks. Place in freezer bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, soak dried apricots in 2 cups water for 2 hours. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes on the lowest heat until apricots are very soft. If water evaporates, add a little extra.
• In a food processor, pulse apricots and liquid with sugar, lemon zest, and brandy.
• Return mixture to saucepan and simmer, stirring, 10-15 minutes, until deep orange and thick.
• Transfer to a bowl; let cool. (You will need only about 2/3 cup, but the leftover will keep almost indefinitely when refrigerated.)
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Set 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour dough and re-cover it with plastic wrap. Let dough soften until malleable, about 10 minutes. Roll 1/8" thick, adding more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking.
• Cut out 20 cookies. Place 1/2" apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Set aside scraps; cover with plastic wrap.) Bake cookies 4 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet then continue baking for 2-6 minutes, or until edges brown.
• Let cookies cool on a wire rack.
• Repeat process with remaining dough disks. (After the last batch is cut, you can knead together all the scraps and repeat chilling, rerolling, and cutting.)
• Heat chocolate in a bowl set over hot water (not touching), stirring with a silicone spatula, until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and stir until fully melted.
• Add cream; stir until smooth. (The mixture should drop thickly from the spatula. If the ganache thickens before it's used, reheat in the microwave in 3-second bursts.) Set aside.
• Spread bottoms of half of the cookies with a thin layer of apricot filling. Spread bottoms of the remaining cookies with a slightly thicker ganache layer. Set the chocolate cookies, coated side down, on the apricot cookies. Let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Store airtight at room temperature, 5 days; frozen, 6 months.