Almond Horns

 Almond Horns.  These delicious almond flavoured, gluten free cookies are very easy to make and incredibly addictive to eat.  They are very similar to  a German Cookie called Mandelhörnchen.

 Almond Horns are filled with almonds, from the outside in and are naturally gluten free. If you are nuts about nuts like I am, then that is a bonus!I come by my nut addiction quite naturally. I adore peanut butter and any kind of nut really.  When I was a child my parents always got tins of mixed nuts at Christmas and we would all want the cashews in the mix, of which there were very few.  I also love, Love, LOVE Macadamia nuts.  I think they are the most delicious of all the nuts, especially when coated in chocolate, but almonds are a very close second!

 I do believe however that these fabulous cookies are considered to be Italian in origin, not German. I found them to be very similar to Amaretti, which are of course Italian.  I once made sour cherry amaretti, based on a recipe by Ottolenghi from the same name book. 
That book is at the top of my list to replace once I am in my own place. You can find the recipe for the amaretti here. I will tell you up front that they are incredibly moreishly addictive. You have been warned.
 So are these. From their crunchy flaked almond coating on the outsides to the moist and chewy middles these are winners all round.  I adore almonds, so it is only natural that I adore these as well.
You can use either almond paste or marzipan to make them. I much prefer making them with marzipan as it is a bit stiffer to handle.  If you are not fond of marzipan or almond paste (as if!) then you may not want to read any further.
 Personally I love both and have been known to pinch off bits of marzipan from my package just to eat. What can I say? I adore almond flavor. 
And these are filled with plenty of almond flavor. Its something I have always really enjoyed. One of my favorite nibbles is chocolate covered almonds, and I also love whole almond bars.  Bakewell tarts, etc. If it smacks of almond I am all over it like a rash! 
 Most of the baked almond horns that I have seen are not quite as flat as these turned out to be. They have also been dipped or spread with chocolate on the bottoms.  I prefer them just as they are here. A little bit flat and more like a crescent moon than a horseshoe. 
Of course I have never seen shop made so I really have no idea of what a real one looks like.  I can only tell you that these are absolutely flippingly delicious, especially if you are really into almonds like I am.
 I love, LOVE that crunchy almond coating on the outside. I used flaked blanched almonds. I have also seen them done with flaked un-blanched almonds which give you somewhat of a different appearance. Both are pretty. 
I think that if you refrigerated the dough before shaping and baking, they might not flatten out quite as much. These were incredibly delicious however so I have no complaints.
 
I quite liked them just as they are. I am very fond of marzipan. I make a cherry cake that has a layer of marzipan in the center. It is my favorite of all the cake. (I know I say that about all cakes. I just like cake I guess!) 
I really need to make it again someday and take better photos of it, but you can see that cake recipe here. Its a recipe I adapted from Mary Berry's Cake Book.  I just love it. The marzipan gets layered between two amounts of cherry almond cake batter before baking.  Its lovely and dense and buttery and studded with sweet cherries.
 
Some people might think that these kinds of cookies should only be baked around Christmas time, but I think they are wonderful any time of the year.  They go down perfectly with a hot cup of tea.  
I only drink herbal teas because of religious reasons (Latter Day Saint), so I can tell you first hand they are excellent with either a fruity tea or a lemon tea.
I used to drink black tea however, and coffee for that matter, and I can only think that they would also be excellent with these.
 I really love the crunch of those flaked almonds on the outside.  When they are baking they get all toasty and brown, really nutty.  You feel a distinct crackle crunch when you bite into them.
But then when you get inside it is all chewy and almond flavored. Very unique and extremely addictive!
 
They look really fancy and fiddly, but I can assure you they are incredibly easy to make. Aside from the fact that the dough can be a bit sticky. Again,  I think chilling the dough would help on that score.
If you are looking for a gluten free treat that pleases on multiple levels I don't think you can go far wrong by baking these delicious little gems.
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Almond Horns

Yield: 16Author: Marie Raynerprep time: 5 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 20 MinCrisp on the outside and chewy middled, chock full of almond flavor cookies that are easy to make and gluten free. These are gorgeous.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound marzipan (8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup (45g) finely ground almonds (almond meal)
• 1/2 cup (95g) sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups (255g) flaked almonds
• Icing sugar to dust

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside.
2. Crumble the marzipan into a bowl. Add the sugar, egg white, ground almonds and almond extract.
3. Using a hand mixture beat until well combined. The mixture will be fairly sticky. Spread the flaked almonds in a shallow dish or plate.
4. Drop 1 1/2 TBS of the dough into the dish of flaked almonds and shape into a rough log rolling the mixture in the nuts. Place onto the baking sheet.
5. Repeat until the almond dough is all used up, leaving a fair space for spreading in between the shapes.
6. Try to give them a curved shape.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes until light golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 25 minutes. Dust liberally with the Icing sugar.

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