Chocolate Marzipan Pocket Cookies

Here is a great cookie with a little surprise. Fun to have kids help with assembly.

Ready

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temp
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 7 oz white almond paste

Set

• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or Silpat mat (non-stick mat)
• Electric mixer with paddle
• Wooden spoon
• Sifter
• 2-inch round cookie cutter
• Wire racks

Go

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cream butter with sugar, in bowl of mixer, until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and beat well.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and sift flour and cocoa over mixture.
5. Stir in with wooden spoon.
6. With clean hands, press dough into a soft dough.
7. On lightly floured surface, roll our about half of the dough to a thickness about a ¼ of a inch.
8. Using cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Re-rolling dough as required to you have about 36 rounds. Place rounds on cookie sheet.
9. Cut almond paste into 36 even pieces. Roll into balls and flatten slightly on rounds.
10. Roll out other half of dough and cut out another 36 rounds. Place these rounds over paste to cover and press to seal dough very much like ravioli.
11. Bake 10-12 minutes until cookies have risen well.
12. Remove from oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.

What you should know

Almond paste is also know as Marzipan and can usually be found in the baking section of your local store.