Place the corn syrup, sugar, and butter in a large saucepan (6 cup capacity).  Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Let the mixture boil for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the rack in the middle of the oven.  Toast the almonds for about 8-10 minutes, or until the nuts are lightly colored and fragrant.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium sized bowl sift, or whisk, the flour, baking soda, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper   Set aside.

Remove about 20 of the toasted almonds and chop them into small pieces.  Set aside to use as garnish for the cookies.

Place the remainder of the almonds in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade.  Add about 1/4 cup of the sifted dry ingredients and process for about 30 seconds or until finely ground.  Place the finely ground nut mixture and dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.

When the corn syrup cools to tepid, stir in the vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon rind.  Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for about an hour or until the dough is firm enough to roll out.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of l/8 inch.  Use a 3 inch (8 cm) round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.  Transfer cookies to the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly colored.  Do not over bake or they will be too hard.  Cool cookies on wire racks and then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Adapted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies