In a large bowl or on a tray, use your hands to knead and mix the ground almonds with:
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon mastic or gum arabic powder
- 125 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) orange flower water
The resulting paste should be moist enough to pack and shape.
The day I was taking the photos, we found our almonds to be drier than normal – they remained a bit powdery even after being ground for a very long time in the processor. Normally, if processed long enough, almonds release their natural oils and begin turning to a paste. We compensated for the dryness in our paste by mixing in a little more butter and orange flower water than the recipe called for, and then returning the mixture to the food processor in batches to grind a bit more smoothly. You can try the same technique if you feel your almonds also didn't process as moistly and smoothly as you'd like.
