aka Pinwheels of Pleasure
Recipe courtesy Monica Bhide from Modern Spice (Simon & Schuster, 2009)
Makes 12

To prepare the almonds, soak them in boiling water for about a minute and then drain. Allow to cool. Remove the skins of the almonds; they will slip off. Pat them dray and then grind them in a spice or coffee grinder to a coarse grind -- not a fine grind, just a coarse grind without any large pieces of almonds. Their texture should be a little coarser than dried bread crumbs.

Ingredients

• a few tablespoons flour for dusting
• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup ground blanched almonds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly pounded (see Note)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour.
2. Roll out the pastry sheet into a 10 X 12-inch rectangle on the work surface.
3. Drizzle the honey over the entire pastry sheet. Sprinkle the almonds over the sheet, then sprinkle the fennel over the sheet.
4. Now roll the pastry sheet into a pinwheel, forming a log.
5. Cut the log into 12 cookies. Place the cookies flat on the cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. At this point, I find it helpful to refrigerate them for about half an hour or so before baking. I find it helps them hold their shape better.
6. Bake on the middle rack until you see the top of the cookies begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Flip over and bake for another 7 to 8 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet before serving.

Note: Why pound the fennel? This helps the fennel to release its flavor as it releases the oils stored inside the seed.