Almond meal is not available here, so I made my own. I store almonds in the freezer and find theyu2019re easier to powder when processed straight from the freezer. Run 1 cup whole almonds with 4 tbsps granulated sugar (in two batches) till powdered fine. My almond powder had very small pieces and wasnu2019t very fine, which I thought was alright since this was to be used as filling.

First, make the biscuit pastry. Put the sugar, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and whisk a couple of times to mix well. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and rub into the flour till it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the grated lemon rind and about 3/4 of the milk and lightly knead into a dough. Do not over handle the dough. Add as much of the remaining milk as necessary to bring the dough together. It might feel a little sticky.

Shape the dough into a smooth ball, then flatten into a disc and wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour (or overnight if you choose).

Now make the almond filling. Mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, till well blended. You can refrigerate this filling overnight, in an airtight container.

Now make the figolli. I made smaller figolli using 3u201d cookie cutters. If your biscuit pastry has been refrigerated overnight, it will be hard so let it soften at room temperature till it can be rolled out comfortably. Dust your work surface with flour, and roll the pastry out to 1/4u201d thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters, cutting two same shapes for each figolla (sandwiched biscuit).

Place some almond filling and spread it about 1/4", on each shape leaving space at the edges for sealing. Donu2019t put in too much filling or your figolli will bulge and make it difficult to decorate. Itu2019s also easier to use shapes that are smooth rather than pointy, from the point of filling and sealing the shapes.

Moisten the free edge with water (or milk) and place the matching pastry shape over the filling and lightly press/ pinch the edges together to seal. Place on an ungreased baking tray. Bake the figolli at 180C (350F) for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Let them cool completely on a rack. Then decorate with chocolate or icing as preferred. I used my Eggless Royal Icing to flood and ice my Figolli as well as Cadburyu2019s Gems (Indian equivalent of Smarties/ M&Ms) and chocolate covered wafer balls as decorations. This recipe gave me 10 Figolli (about 3u201d across).