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1
Grind the blanched almonds in short pulses until a fine, dry powder forms. Stop before any oiliness appears in the meal — the powder must remain loose and separate.
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2
Combine the ground almonds, flour, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the lard and rub it through the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and bring the dough together with the hands until it is smooth and uniform. It should hold its shape without sticking.
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3
Wrap the dough and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes. The fat will firm and the flour will hydrate evenly; after resting, the dough should feel cohesive and no longer greasy to the touch. This is where the dish lives or dies: a dough shaped too soon — before the fat has set and the flour absorbed — will spread in the oven and lose the clean, dry oval form that defines the cookie.
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4
Heat the oven to 160 °C. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll each between the palms into a small, slightly flattened oval resembling a dried fava bean. Press one pine nut lightly into the top of each piece. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a small gap between each.
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5
Bake at 160 °C for 16–18 minutes. The cookies are done when they are pale golden at the base and just set on the surface — they must retain the colour of a dried bean and show no browning. They will still yield very slightly to a light finger-press at the centre; they firm fully as they cool.
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6
Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an open tin, not an airtight container, so the texture remains dry and crumbly rather than softening.