Almond Macaroons
From Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering
You can use different nut flours for this recipe. Different brands and fineness of the almond flour/almond meal change the macaroon. My friend uses Trader Joe’s almond meal (meaning ground with skin left on so ‘freckly’) and I use Costco’s own almond flour (blanched, white colored as without skin, aka ground almonds in England) both labeled gluten free. I kept decreasing the amount of almond flour to get the chewiness I wanted, similar to ones my friend made. When I used her cup measures with almond flour, they were dense and not chewy. This is a very simple recipe, quick to make, and a small enough quantity to find out if you like them.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup (2+1/2 oz) almond flour (or 1 cup Trader Joe’s almond meal)
- 1/3 cup (2+1/2 oz) sugar
- ½ tsp gluten-free almond extract for extra almond flavor
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup chopped, flaked almonds
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350* and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix almond flour and sugar in a 4 cup bowl.
- Break up egg with a fork, add egg and almond extract to flour mix, and stir until mix forms a soft, moist paste.
- I use a #60 / one tablespoon cookie scoop (number should be engraved on inside metal ring that releases cookie dough)
- Put chopped almonds in a cereal bowl. Scrape cookie scoop against side of bowl to cut off excess mix. Drop a scoop of dough into almonds and shake the bowl to cover the ball in almonds. It’s easier to do one at a time. Lift soft ball onto cookie sheet leaving about one inch between balls. I have tried just covering the top of the ball in almonds, but the macaroons tend to stick to parchment paper without chopped almonds on bottom. Flatten all balls slightly.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, macaroons should be lightly golden brown, firm but still soft. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Drizzle with chocolate, sandwich with chocolate ganache or buttercream and raspberry jam. Bake until harder and use it as a substitute for Amaretti cookies in recipes.
