Milano Cookies

Toast almonds: spread on baking sheet and insert in preheated 350 degrees F oven, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until nuts are lightly toasted to pale golden brown. Process almonds in food processor with the 3 tbs of sugar until almonds are finely ground. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto a sheet of wax paper or into a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter with remaining 3/4 cups sugar until mixture is light in color and texture (at least 3 minutes). Beat egg and almond extract;then the almond mixture into to butter mixture until just smooth.

On a low speed, beat in flour mixture until just smooth. Cover dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (or until well chilled) or up to 5 days.

Position racks in oven to center and top third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly butter them. Portion dough into 80 pieces, about 1 tsp each. Roll into balls.

Place balls about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Do not crowd. It is likely that 3 sheets will be needed to bake all of the cookies. Bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after about 5-6 minutes. Cook another 5-6 minutes, or until lightly browned all over. Let cookies cool on the sheets for about 3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.

Melt chocolate (a double boiler is recommended, but any method is fine). Spread about 1/2 tsp on the underside of a cookie, then lightly sandwich between another cookie. Alternatively: a parchment cone can be filled with melted chocolate and the chocolate can be piped onto cookies before being sandwiched. Refrigerate cookies briefly to set chocolate, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for some time.

cook's notes

For a fancier cookie, lightly brush each cookie with an egg glaze (beat 1 egg+1 tsp water) and top with a few sliced almonds before baking.