Recipe: Almond Macaroons

My Dad is a lover of anything involving almonds, and when I made these cookies last week, he messaged me to tell me that they were AWESOME (his word). The recipe for these cookies has been available at the shop as a recipe card for a couple of years now, but they didn’t make it into the second cookbook, as I didn’t do a biscuits section this time round. So, I thought it would be nice to share them online too (they are so easy to make and the perfect weekend treat)…

Makes: 10-12 cookies

Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Vegan optional (pictured)

Ingredients:

*      3 sheets of edible rice/wafer paper

*      150ml egg whites/aquafaba

*      400g icing sugar

*      250g ground almonds

*      1 tsp almond extract

*      75g flaked almonds to garnish

*      1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

Method:

1.     Preheat oven to 150-160 degrees C/gas mark 3-4. Prepare 2 or 3 baking sheets with baking parchment or non-stick silicone mats.

2.     Lay the edible paper on the baking sheets ready to receive the cookies.

3.     Whisk the egg whites/aquafaba into soft peaks using an electric mixer.

4.     Combine icing sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl.

5.     Add sugar/almond mix to egg whites/aquafaba, along with almond extract, mixing together until just combined. Try not to over mix - the dough should be quite sticky.

6.     Using a soup or dessert spoon, portion out golf-ball sized dollops of dough and place on edible paper, keeping at least 3cm apart, as the dough will spread slightly when baking (the aquafaba recipe spreads a lot more than the recipe with eggs, so bear this in mind when placing on the baking sheets). This usually works out at 4-6 cookies per sheet.

7.     If needed, shape the dough into round cookies, using either your hands, a cookie cutter or just the side of spoon, and then sprinkle with flaked almonds. Optional - using a sieve, dust the cookies with icing sugar before placing them in the oven.

8.     Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden and firm to the touch. Cookies should still be quite chewy in the middle so don’t stick your fingers into the cookie too forcefully!

9.     Cool slightly on baking trays before removing, and crack/rip the edible paper around the cookie. This will leave a rough circle of edible paper on the underside of the macaroon, and the leftovers can be thrown away or eaten (as my daughter like to do). Store for up to a week in an airtight container.