So I have to confess, I'm always buying these pretty cookies in stores and never knew they were made with nuts. No wonder I love them so much. They're sometimes called lace cookies because of the lacey look they take on after being baked. They're so delicate and flavorful but they're actually pretty easy to make, so let's begin. 

Ingredients:
2 cups Almonds
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk or dark chocolate (optional)

Directions:
Start by placing the almonds in a food processor and chopping them so they're in small pieces. You want different sizes so don't make it a powder but they should be pretty small. I found out the very hard way that babies do not like the sound of almonds in a food processor, so I found it easier to chop the almonds by hand to a manageable size and then place them in a food processor to finish it off.

Place the almonds in a medium bowl and mix in the flour and salt. 

In a saucepan add the heavy cream, honey, sugar, and butter. I had some honey left over from our honeymoon in Greece and you could really taste its flavor in these cookies. Cook over medium/low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Once it comes to a boil continue to cook for another 30 seconds then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Add the hot mixture to the almond mixture and mix it until everything is incorporated. 

The mixture is going to be very sticky at this point, let it completely cool at room temperature, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Believe me, you can't work with this until it cools down, so don't try to rush this step. 

In the meantime preheat your oven to 350 F. 

Once the mixture is cool, using a melon baller or a teaspoon to measure out teaspoon sized portions of the mixture. Form them into balls and place on a  parchment paper lined sheet. ***NOTE: you absolutely need to use parchment paper with these cookies, they will stick to even the best non stick pans. I tried using silicone sheets as well but found the parchment paper worked best***

Another note, these cookies SPREAD!!! Space them far apart. they will spread to triple the size. I tried a few versions of these cookies before landing on the best method. First I tried flattening the cookies out completely before baking, and while that gave me a more uniform cookie in shape and size, I found it to be too "lacey". As in, there were too many holes in my cookies once baked. Next, I tried flattening it out slightly before baking, but I ran into the same problem. The best cookies came from leaving the cookies perfectly round before baking. 

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 8-9 minutes. The outer edges of the cookie should be browned and the centre, a golden color. ***Note: if your cookies have spread and touched use a knife to cut where they're touching right when you take it out of the oven, if you wait they will harden and you won't be able to separate them***

Allow them to fully cool on the baking tray before transferring them to a wire rack, approximately 5 minutes. Continue with the remaining cookie dough mixture. 

If you're going to use chocolate, which I totally recommend by the way. Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, mixing in between intervals. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. I combined 60% cocoa and milk chocolate. You can either sandwich two cookies together with chocolate in between or you can simply drizzle chocolate on top of each cookie. Or both, if you're feeling really adventurous, you can never have too much chocolate so go nuts. 

If you're going the sandwich route, like I did, spread some chocolate over the bottom of one cookie without going right to the edge. Place a second cookie on top and gently press down. These cookies are super delicate so handle them with care.

Allow the cookies to rest until the chocolate sets, this can take about 20 minutes. 

They take a bit of time, but all in all they're a pretty easy cookie to make, and the  nutty flavor and crispy texture is unreal. They will quickly become a family favorite!