1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup bittersweet dark chocolate, melted

Cooking Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the almonds, sugar, flour and butter (did you know that you can make butter at home too?) . Pulse lightly until the almonds are ground and the mixture is homogenous. Place the mixture in a mixing bowl.

Using a tablespoon, place small scoops of the mixture on a lightly greased baking sheet, separating each scoop by at least 1-inch on all sides. Use the tips of your fingers to gently flatten the tops of each scoop. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

Once the cookies have cooled, gently melt the chocolate in the bowl of a bain-marie (a stainless steel bowl fitted over a saucepan of simmering water s that the bowl just touches the water). Remove the melted chocolate from the heat. Carefully pour or spoon a bit of melted chocolate on the tops of half the cookies. If the tops are not flat enough, simply spoon the melted chocolate on the sides of the cookies that were face down during the cooking process. Use the remaining cookie halves to form the other half of the cookie "sandwich," pressing gently so that the chocolate adheres to both sides of the sandwich. Let rest until the chocolate has cooled, holding the cookies together.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup applesauce, recipe follows
1 1/2 cups raisins
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Cooking Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the dry required ingredients and set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the brown sugar and continue creaming. Then add the eggs and applesauce mixing well. Gradually add the dry ingredients and raisins to make dough.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet (save those butter papers!) and bake until light golden brown, about 9 to13 minutes. The cookies (not cookeys) do not brown very much. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Applesauce:
6 apples, McIntosh preferred
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Peel and core apples and cut into quarters. Place them in an enamel sauce pan with the water and lemon juice then bring to a boil then turn the heat down slightly and simmer 30 minutes to break them down and get them to thicken. Take off the heat and stir in the sugar and cinnamon, if using.