Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread unskinned almonds on a pie plate and put the flour in a layer on a cookie sheet with a rim. Put both in the oven. Toast the almonds for 12–15 minutes or until aromatic and a shade darker. Toast the flour for about 25 minutes or until cream-colored. Stir twice during cooking. Let cool.
½ cup almonds, unskinned 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour pinch salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ cup sugar ¾ teaspoon cinnamon ¾ stick (3 ounces) butter 1/3 cup (2½ ounces) lard or shortening ½ cup confectioners' sugar white tissue paper for wrapping
Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the salt, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Process the almonds in a food processor until they look like very coarse crumbs. Mix thoroughly into the flour mixture. Make a well in the center. Cut the butter and lard into 1-inch pieces and put them in the well. Rub them into the other ingredients as if making pastry. When the mixture looks like bread crumbs, pull it together with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap. Shape it into a disk and chill for an hour.
To proceed, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet and sift a dusting of flour over it. On a cool surface, open the package of pastry. Keep it on the plastic and cover with another sheet of plastic. Roll it out to half an inch thick. Cut into 1½ -inch disks with a cookie cutter or jar lid. Quickly reform the scraps into a ball and reroll. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool for about 5 minutes, then thickly sift confectioners' sugar all over them.
Cool completely without moving them. Cut 8-by-7-inch pieces of tissue. Carefully lift each polvorone onto a tissue, placing it a bit off center. Fold one side around it and then the other side over it, tucking it underneath and trying not to invert the polvorone, which will be tender. Twist the open ends of the paper so the polvorone looks like a large candy. Store in an airtight container. Don't forget to squeeze them slightly to compact them before unwrapping and eating them. Makes 18.