My grandmother made a version of this that skips the fruit (though I like to add raisins, golden raisins, and sliced almonds to the dough). She used whole milk or half-and-half (I use 2% milk and some heavy cream, or just whole milk), double the sugar and eggs, and used almond pie filling instead of almond paste. I suppose that was more economical, especially since she used only a can of filling for a batch (which is double this size). But the milk made it very tender, and letting it rise after shaping makes it very light and airy, not dry at all. I'd love to make my own almond filling - not a paste. Any suggestions, starting with almond flour or almond butter? The pie filling is almost $4 a can!

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