These are one of those cookies that require a lot of work before you even get to the recipe. These are not cookies for the faint of heart. These are cookies for people who want to blow a whole evening making cookies. These are very Martha-y cookies.
Before you even begin, almonds must be toasted, cooled, and ground to a fine powder (mine were still a little chunky, but that seemed OK), raspberries must be washed, pureed and put through a sieve (and not eaten... this was difficult. Y.ou should probably buy an extra box of raspberries and snack on the extras while you're baking. A recipe this involved requires sustenance. Fact.)
The recipe begins! Brown some butter and add in honey (this basically smells how I would imagine a hug would smell... if hugs had smells). I wanted to drink it, or take a bath in it. Seriously good.
Mix the flour, almonds, sugars, five egg whites, butter (this is boring, so no pictures).
Pour the batter into a mini-muffin tin. Add drop a tiny bit of raspberry puree on top, and make it into a heart-shape with a toothpick, like marbling paper. Unfortunately this was easier said than done. Most of my 'hearts' were a little mushy-looking. Bake them.
Result? Yum! These are really little cupcakes, not cookies. They really didn't turn out as pretty as Martha's, but I've kind of given up on that. They were sweet and nutty, with a dense sponge cake texture. The only thing I would recommend would be to add more raspberry. But I always think more berries are a good idea. So, keep these in mind the next time you have to bake to impress someone (maybe your in-laws, or your friend from high school ... you know, the one who owns her own company, looks like Scarlett Johansson, has hiked to the top of Everest, and rescues abused animals in her free time. I bet she can't bake like this.)
Next week: Sand Tarts, p.127
Your pictures are beautiful! These look so yummy, but maybe too much fuss for an office potluck. I still want to make those madelines but I can't find a pan.
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