Like a NYC bakery

Both my parents are from Brooklyn. Which technically makes me a New Yorker, even though I was born upstate. If that doesn't do it, our tri-annual trips pretty much qualify me as an honorary New Yorker. There are two things I LOVE about New York. The theater, and the food. It's almost cliche to talk about NY food, but sometimes cliches ring true. I am forever spoiled by the Brooklyn bagel (which is far superior to any other borough), delis, and bakeries.

I don't care who you are, you've never had a sandwich until you've had one from the Stage Deli. Last trip there I managed to bring one home for Jon and even after a 5 hour plane ride he agreed it was the best he's ever had.

And as for the bakeries, they're an institution all to themselves. My hands down favorite is Leons, which sadly is no longer. But there is nothing like walking into a New York bakery and looking at all the brightly colored cookies just winking at you, like happy rainbows. This was an especially good trip right around Passover when sweets become less than appetizing due to the absence of flour or leavening agents. But the New York bakeries do it right and most of their delicious treats are made from almond paste! Which is a taste I will always associate with both Passover and New York.

Passover's only a couple weeks away, so its about time to whip out those yummy almond recipes. This is my attempt at recreating a favorite flavor. They came out just how I remember them....almost....nothing's ever as good as the memory!

Almond Horns with Chocolate

Cooking spray
2 cups sliced almonds
1 tube almond paste, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1) Preheat oven to 375. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Spread almonds on third baking sheet.
2) Place almond pasted and sugar in processor and process until blended.
3) Add egg whites, 1 at a time, blending well between additions.
4) Spoon dough into pastry bag and pipe log of dough atop almonds. Gently roll dough in almonds, coating completely. Transfer to prepared sheets, bending dough ends to create a horseshoe shape.
5) Repeat with remaining dough. Bake cookies about 19 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
6) Stir chocolate in double boiler until melted and smooth. Dip ends of cookie into chocolate and place on foil lined cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies.
7) Refrigerate cookies until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.
Serves 12.
Each serving has:

Calories		347.8
Total Fat		19.7 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		13.4 mg
Potassium		253.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate		42.6 g
Protein		6.5 g