Almond Rolls dipped in chocolate

 

Quick to make and quite impressive,  delicately crisp,
cookies are sure to become part of your holiday
 baking tradition. they can also be left flat,
rather than rolled, and drizzled with melted chocolate.

Ingredients
6 tbsp. 90 mL butter
1/3 cup 75 mL brown sugar
3 tbsp. 45 mL corn syrup
3/4 cup 175 mL finely ground almonds
1/3 cup 75 mL all purpose flour
1 tsp. 5 mL vanilla
1/2 cup 125 mL semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. 5 mL solid vegetable shortening
 (not butter or margarine)

Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350® F (180® C). Line a cookie
sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine butter,
 brown sugar and corn syrup.
Bring to a full bubbling boil, stirring, over medium heat.
Remove from heat and stir in almonds,
flour and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Drop batter by scant teaspoonfuls, 3 inches
(8 cm) apart, onto the prepared cookie sheet.
 Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until the cookies stop
 bubbling and become very slightly browned
on the edges. The timing is pretty critical,
so don't leave the kitchen while you have a
 batch in the oven. Remove from the oven and
let cool on the baking sheet for about two minutes.
 Using a thin spatula, remove one cookie from
 the baking sheet and place it, bottom-side-up,
 on a flat surface (like a cutting board).
Gently roll it around a chopstick or thin piece
 of wooden dowel. Slide off onto a tray and
repeat with the remaining cookies.
 You'll have to work quite quickly because as
 the cookies cool they will harden and become
difficult to roll. (If this happens, you can slip
 the cookie sheet back into the oven for a
 minute or two to resoften them.)

4. When all the cookies are rolled and cooled,
combine the chocolate chips with the vegetable
shortening in a small bowl.
Microwave on high power for 30 seconds.
Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds,
then stir until smooth.
Dip one end of each roll into the melted chocolate,
shaking off any excess.
Place on a waxed paper lined tray and refrigerate
until chocolate is firm.

How kids can help:
Stir together the ingredients in the saucepan.
Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the cookie sheet.
Dip cookies into melted chocolate.
Servings: 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies