Cocoa Almond Spiral Cookies

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If you like the flavours of chocolate and almond together you’ll enjoy these Cocoa-Almond Spirals. They are great to keep on hand in the fridge for a week or your freezer for a few months. Then you can slice and bake off a cookie as you wish- or stock a glass jar with them and see your cookie hounds’ eyes light up. So much better than those commercial cookie tubes -you know the ones I mean.

Cocoa-Almond Spirals

  • 1 pound (4 sticks) butter, cool room temperature
  • 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 egg yolks if large, 4 if medium eggs are used
  • 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4-3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1-1/3 cups almond paste crumbled (use the freshest you can find it should be soft)
  • 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder like Valrhona etc.
  • 1 teaspoon pure almond extract

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and salt together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat in well. Slowly add the flour until mixed and a firm dough forms and pulls away from the mixer bowl. Chill this dough for an hour and then remove one cup of it and reserve the rest. Place the one cup of dough in the mixer bowl (note you don’t have to clean the bowl or paddle in between mixing) Add the remaining ingredients and mix until  well mixed and uniform. Roll the reserved butter dough out to a 10″ x 30″ rectangle between sheets of parchment, plastic wrap or waxed paper. Roll the cocoa dough out to the same size and then invert on top of the butter dough. Roll starting from the 30″side together to form a spiraled log. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours before using.  When ready to bake, slice into 1/8″slices and place 1/2 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 20-25 minutes in a preheated 350F oven – or until slightly golden. Remove to racks to cool.

Hope you enjoy them!

xoxo

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10 comments

  1. Gabi says:

    Maryann- Thank you- I finally got one I like. 🙂

    LisaRene- Thanks, can’t wait to see your chocolate-almond creations.

    Courtney- Thanks lovely!

    Deborah- Thank you very much!

    April- Thanks -let me know how they turn out!

    Gretchen Noelle- Thank you!

    Emiline- Thank you! I never buy the tubes either, but I see people with them and I think “don’t they know how easy it is to make good cookies?” 🙂

    Vali- What wouldn’t I trade for a bit of your precious knitting- better yet come on over and we’ll bake cookies and knit together! xoxo

    xoxo

  2. vali says:

    gabs–

    i am salivating just looking at these photos–i might actually consider baking for a result like this:)

    or better yet, couldn’t i knit you something precious in return for a few baked goods?

    your ever faithful baking disciple,

    vali

  3. Emiline says:

    Oh their beautiful! Just perfect looking.
    I never buy store-bought cookie dough, but I bet you that stuff flies off the shelves. Ahh…Pillsbury.

  4. LisaRene says:

    This style of cookie always seems magical to me. “How’d they do that?” I like that you used almond paste instead of just almond extract. Surprisingly (mostly to me) I have never made a cookie with the combination of almond and chocolate – I must rectify that!

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