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Mexican Almond Cookies from the cookbook \"A Drizzle of Honey.\"

I have previously mentioned David Gitlitz's wonderful book "A Drizzle of Honey: the Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews." In celebration of the Iranian missile attacks being foiled, I decided to make these cookies this morning--Mexican almond cookies. Gitlitz says, "This recipe is almost exactly the same as the one for cookies called alhagues, which is found in the Manual de mugeres, written shortly after the Jewish expulsion from Spain. It produces a chewy almond cookie very close to a modern macaroon."

From the cookbook, the recipe is as follows and makes about 36 cookies:

3/4 cup almonds

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sesame seeds

3/4 cup honey

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Finely grind the almonds, chopped walnuts, and sesame seeds together in a food processor.
2. Heat the honey in a saucepan over medium heat until it foams. Then turn off the heat and when the foam has subsided, stir in the nut mixture.
3. When the mixture has cooled so it is warm to the touch, stir in the beaten eggs, almond extract, cinnamon and cloves, and bread crumbs.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease and flour two cookie sheets. Using a teaspoon, drop the batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, at least 1.5 inches apart.
5. Bake until lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet until firm and then transfer them to a plate.
6. Enjoy! Store any leftover cookies in a tightly covered container.

L'chaim!