Infasciadedde (Sicilian Twisted Cookies)

Yield: 96 narrow 4-inch cookies

Past Frolla

• Almond Filling
• 12 oz (3 cup) whole unblanched almonds
• 1 c honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Finishing

• Honey
• Amount 2 oz toasted sliced almond

Directions:

1. To make the dough, in the work bowl of a food processed with the steel blade, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pluse two ro three times to mix, Add the butter and pulse repeated until it si finely incorporated and mixture is cool and powdery. Add the eggs, all at once, and continue to pulse until the dough forms a ball. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface, the place it on a pieces of plastic wrap. Press the dough into a square about an inch thick and wrap it. Chill the dough while preparing the filling.
2. For the filling, place the almond in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until finely ground. Add the honey and cinnamon and pulse to make a smooth paste. Scrape the filling into a shallow bowl.
3. When you are ready to bake the cookies, set the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on a floured surface. Knead the dough lightly to make it malleable again and roll it up into a cylinder. Cut the cylinder into four equal pieces.
5. Place one pieces of the dough on a floured durface and roll it out to a 12-inch square. Cut the dough into eight strips, each 1 1/2 x 12 inches. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling into a narrow line down the middle od each strip of dough, the flod the strip of dough so the two long ends meet, but do not press them together. Cut the folded strip into 4-inch length and twist each once or twice. Arrage the cookies on the prepared pans about an inch apart in all directions. Repeat with the other pieces of dough and remaining filling.
6. Bake the coolies for about 15 minutes, or until they are golen. Slide the papers on racks to cool the cookies.
7. Right before serving, drizzle the cookies with the honey and sprinkle with the toasted sliced almond. The honey and almond make the cookies a little sloppy to eat, but they add an extra dimension to the flavor - the cookies would be bland without them.
8. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.