Snack: Caramel Nut Brownie Cups

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole almonds with skins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F.
In a shallow baking pan toast almonds in one layer in middle of oven until fragrant, about 12 minutes, and cool. In a food processor finely grind 1/2 cup almonds with flour and salt. Reserve remaining almonds for topping brownie cups. Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan melt butter and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. In a bowl stir together chocolate mixture, almond mixture, sugar, and eggs until combined well. Chill dough until just firm, about 30 minutes.
Roll level tablespoons dough into balls and lightly press balls into thirty-two 1/8-cup mini-muffin cups (1 3/4 inches across top and 3/4 inch deep). With thumb make a 1/3-inch-deep indentation in center of each ball. Chill shells 1 hour.