Purchase a commercial leaf-mold — most have two 2 1/2-inch long cutouts — in specialty stores or make your own mold by cutting a leaf shape out of a thick piece of plastic or cardboard.

(About fifty 2 1/2-inch or thirty 4-inch cookies) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup finely ground almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/3 cup superfine sugar

1 large egg or 2 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla, almond, or orange extract

12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted (optional)

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease a large baking sheet.

2) Combine the flour, nuts, and salt. Beat the butter or margarine until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg or egg whites. Add the extract. Stir in the flour mixture.

3) Place a leaf-mold or stencil flat on the prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula dipped in cold water, spread a thin layer of batter in the mold (about 1 heaping teaspoonful for a 2 1/2-inch long mold), then carefully remove the mold. Wipe away any excess batter. Repeat, leaving about 1-inch between cookies.

4) Bake until the edges are lightly colored, about 8 minutes. Set the baking sheet on a rack and let cool. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

5) For Chocolate-Dipped Leaf Cookies: Dip the tops of the cookies into the melted chocolate or spread the chocolate using a metal spatula. Place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and let stand until set.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT