(see also Kirschkugeln)
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 lb ground almonds
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon rose water
Blanch almonds by dipping in boiling water for 1 min., then pinching skins off nuts. Allow to dry well on cookie sheets for several days, stirring and turning the nuts occasionally. Do not dry in oven! From now on, work with one pound batches. Put nuts through a food processor for two to three minutes, or until finely ground and oily. For each one pound batch:
Mix sugar and water in saucepan. Cook to the end of the soft ball stage, or 240. Add ground almonds, water and rose water Stir mixture well, and pour into a plastic food storage bag to store. If lumpy, you can knead it in the bag when it cools some. To store, drop plastic bag into 1 qt. Ziploc freezer bag, and seal well. Stores in refrigerator for a month or so, or can store in freezer indefinitely. It’s best to make this a couple of weeks before you need to use it. See following recipe for use.