Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 350° - rack in the middle position
- 1 1/2 cups melted butter – 3 sticks
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/8 cup molasses – 2 T
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt – if you use salted almonds – reduce salt to 1/2 tsp
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds – grind them in the food processor with the steel blade – they don't have to be blanched
- 2 beaten eggs – just whip then with a fork
- 4 cups flour – not sifted
- 13 oz bag Hershey's Kisses or small squares of milk chocolate
Preparation
Step 1
Microwave the butter in the mixing bowl and melt it. Add the sugar, vanilla, almond flavoring and the molasses. Stir until it's blended, then add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
Measure almonds after grinding. Add them to the bowl and mix. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir. Then add the flour and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
Let the dough firm up for a few minutes, then form it into walnut-sized balls and arrange them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet.
Cut the Hershey's Kisses in half (from the top down, so that each half has a point and a base). Press the halves into the middle of your cookie balls, cut side down. If you want to splurge a little, press a whole Kiss into the center of the dough ball, base down and point sticking up. If you do splurge, you will need to double the amount of Kisses.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Don't worry – the Hershey's Kisses won't melt. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Yield: 10-12 dozen cookies, depending on the cookie size. If you want to make less cookies just cut the recipe in half.
FROM HANNAH: Norman says these cookies taste the way he always wished marzipan would taste.
MY NOTES: These are very time consuming to make so allow yourself a lot of time. The most time consuming was unwrapping and cutting the Kisses. The Kisses do not cut very well so next time I might just try small pieces of milk chocolate squares or rectangles. They are very yummy though. I think they would taste just as good without the chocolate but Donn insists they have to have the chocolate.