a variation on an old cookie

I'm pretty sure that I've never shared this cookie recipe here before, but it's one of my favorites:: almond horns from an old Martha Stewart Living. I've made this cookie so many times, I can't even begin to count. The flavor is so perfect- just the right balance between salty and sweet and nutty. They were in the holiday cookie tins last year, and I think it might have been at that point when I came up with the idea to use that dough for thumbprint cookies with jam in the middle. Somehow I haven't managed to try that in the past year, but I did yesterday and it was so perfect. I love thumbprint cookies, but the recipes I've tried have always turned out either too flaky or too buttery (or maybe even both). I thought the almond flavor of the dough would be a perfect compliment to the fruity flavor of the jam (almost like a pb&j sandwich- but with almonds!).

There's not a whole lot to say about these cookies except that they're absolutely delicious. In fact, for some reason I didn't double this recipe and I think I'm going to have to make another batch tomorrow. At this point, though, I'm pretty much too tired to say or do anything else (though I am working up the strength to give the bathtub a quick scrub, and the only thing that's motivating me to do that is the fact that I really want to take a bath since my back is sore from all that shoveling yesterday!). In other news, triple a has saved my butt twice in two days and it turned out that the starter and the battery in my car got into a fight, and I was the loser. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day. And when all else fails, bake more cookies!Almond Thumbprint Cookies

(adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup softened margarine
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tbs ground flax + 3 tbs water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup whole raw almonds, toasted and finely ground (use a food processor if you have one)
about 1/2 pint jam, I used raspberry rhubarb and I think strawberry would be delicious too

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, cream margarine and sugar until fluffy (you can use an electric mixer here if you have one). Add in flax mixture, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix in flour and ground almonds, just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Make a thumbprint in each ball of dough and fill with jam. Do not overfill with jam, you don't want it bubbling over and getting messy! Bake cookies for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden. Cool and enjoy!