There is a wonderful spice called Mahleb, used in the middle east, and made
from the pits of a type of cherry. It is available whole or ground from
middle eastern groceries, and it gives a wonderful essence to baked goods
that I suspect is just like the traditional bitter almond. I buy the whole
Mahleb, which looks like a jar of tiny almonds, and grind them fresh (in a
pepper mill or with the wheat in my grain mill) for breads and cookies and
whatever else I want to give that flavor too. They taste bitter eaten
alone, but a very few go a long way--about a dozen will flavor a recipe
with 2-3 cups of flour. Try them--they're not super easy to find but are
easier, I imagine, than finding apricots out of season and collecting the
kernels!
Diane Brown
brown_d@kids.wustl.edu