---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Maria's Ischli Cookies
 Categories: Cookies
      Yield: 2 Dozen
 
    1/4 lb Almonds or hazelnuts; chop
           -fine
    1/2 lb Butter; room temp
    1/4 lb Sugar
    1/2 lb Flour
           Seedless raspberry preserves

           CHOCOLATE ICING

    1/4 lb Bittersweet chocolate; melt
    1/4 c  Water
      3 tb Superfine sugar
      1 ts Instant espresso coffee
      1 tb Butter
 
  If you cannot buy nuts already ground, then grind them in a processor,
  taking care not to overprocess them or they will turn oily; you can also
  process them with the sugar to prevent them from turning oily. (Note if you
  are working with whole hazelnuts, toast them first in a 400° oven, rub off
  skins, let cool and then grind.) Combine the nuts with the butter, sugar
  and flour; you will have to combine this dough with your hands; if a bit
  too dry, add drops of lemon juice or rum. Form dough into a roll 1 1/4"
  thick. Refrigerate overnight in waxed paper or parchment. Following day
  preheat the oven to 350°. Cut dough into 1/4" slices and bake on an
  ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and
  cool cookies on a rack. When cooled to room temperature, sandwich two
  cookies together with raspberry jam and spread some of the chocolate icing
  (see below) over the top cookie. For a pretty presentation, set them in
  fluted paper cups. CHOCOLATE ICING-Melt chocolate with water and sugar.
  When melted, add instant coffee and cook over very low heat for 5 minutes.
  Turn heat off, add butter and let icing cool to room temperature. (Don't
  let it get too firm or it will be hard to spread over cookies.) Yield: 1
  1/2 cups.

  Source: Cooking Monday to Friday, TVFN.

  MM Waldine Van Geffen vghc42a@prodigy.com.
 
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