Gevulde Koeken

Make the almond paste: Bring a pan of water to boil. Add almonds to boiling water until they rise to the top. Scoop out the almonds and spread them onto a paper towel.

Remove the outside skins from the blanched almonds. Set aside a dozen blanched almonds for the tops. You'll end up with about 150 grams of blanched almonds for the filling.

Add all almond paste ingredients (blanched almonds, sugar, lemon zest, 1-1/2 eggs, salt, and a splash of water) to a food processor and pulse until it starts to clump up, approximately 1 minute. Add a few drops of water if needed to achieve a piping consistency.

Make the cookie dough: Wash and dry the food processor. Add flour, sugar, cold butter, and salt to the food processor and pulse until the butter and dry ingredients are finely crumbled.

Divide the crumbled dough evenly into two bowls using a scale. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

After chilling, remove one half of the dough and crumble it into the food processor bowl. Whisk 1 egg in a bowl for the egg wash. Fill a teacup with ice water.

While pulsing the dough, add 3 tablespoons of ice water and mix until the dough starts to form into a large ball.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/6-inch thickness. Using a 2.75-inch to 3.25-inch round or fluted cutter, cut out 12 circles. Place dough cutouts on a Silpat-lined baking sheet.

Pipe or place discs of almond paste filling onto each cookie round.

Crumble the second half of refrigerated dough into the food processor and add another 3 tablespoons of ice water. Mix until it forms a ball. Turn onto a floured surface and cut 12 additional circles using the same size cutter.

Dip a finger into ice water and dampen the edges of the bottom dough circles to help seal. Place a top circle of dough over each filled bottom circle and press edges together to seal.

Press one blanched almond into the top of each cookie. Brush each cookie with beaten egg wash.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, adjusting time as needed based on your oven. Freeze uneaten cookies to preserve freshness.