Chocolate Hearts is assembled from ground almonds, chocolate, sugar, and a few spoonfuls of kirsch (pronounced keersh), a cherry brandy, and then it’s rolled out, stamped into hearts, and left to dry overnight.

Ingredients

5 ounces good-quality

bittersweet chocolate,

chopped

2 cups (about 8 ounces) finely

ground blanched almonds or

almond meal (see Note)

¾ cup sugar, plus more for

rolling out the dough

3 tablespoons kirsch

Method 

COOKIE CUTTER NEEDED: heart measuring about 2½ inches across the top

PLACE the chocolate in a food processor and process until finely ground.

Add the ground almonds and ¾ cup of sugar and pulse a few times to combine.

Add the kirsch and 2 tablespoons of water and pulse until the dough starts to hold together. If it’s too crumbly, add up to 1 tablespoon more water. When you squeeze the dough it should stick together.

SPRINKLE a clean work surface with sugar. Working with half the dough at a time, place it on the sugar and roll it out to about a ¹⁄³-inch thick, ness. (Sprinkle the dough with a little sugar if the rolling pin sticks to it.)

Using the cookie cutter, stamp out hearts. Transfer them, using a thin metal spatula, to a rack.

Reroll the scraps with the remaining dough. Let the cookies dry on the rack overnight to firm up.

STORE, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks; or freeze for up to 3 months.