ALMOND MACAROONS
Passover without macaroons is like Rosh Hashanah without sweet
honey cake or Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Sephardic macaroons
use lemon zest for flavoring rather than almond extract. The secret
to good macaroons is beating the egg whites just right and not
overbaking the cookies.
3 large egg whites
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups blanched finely ground almonds
Cooking spray, butter, or margarine for greasing pans
Preheat the oven to 275°F. In an electric mixer, beat the
egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the lemon zest. Gradually
add the sugar and beat until the whites are very stiff and shiny
but not dry. Fold in the ground almonds.
Cover 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray or grease them.
Using 2 teaspoons, take a heaping teaspoon of batter in one and
scoop it off onto the baking sheet using the other teaspoon. Place
the cookies 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with the rest of the
dough.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cookies are firm and slightly
brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing the cookies
from the baking sheets to a rack. When cool, store in an air-tight
container.
Makes about 3 dozen.
Zell Schulman
Macmillan USA
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