Place the almonds in a food processor and process about 1 minute until finely ground. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, almond extract and lemon zest. Mix until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl when needed.
Mix in the ground almonds until fully combined. Add in flour and mix until just combined.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shape dough into 2 inch balls and space them evenly apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make indentations with thumb. If the edges crack use your fingers to smooth them out. It's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each cookie with a 1-2 tsp of preserves.
Bake for about 14-15 minutes or until slightly golden.
Cool completely before frosting.
To make the glaze add fresh lemon juice to confectioners sugar 1 tsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency. For a ticket glaze add less juice, for a thinner glaze add more. Drizzle over cookies.