Simplest Almond Macaroons Recipes

SIMPLEST ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place almond paste and sugar in food processor or mixing bowl. Mix or process until thoroughly combined. Add egg whites and mix until smooth dough forms.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets, about 1 inch apart and bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely on baking sheets.
• Peel macaroons from paper when completely cool and store in an airtight container.

EASY ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 300 F
• Ground almonds and walnuts until fine
• With a hand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Slowly add icing sugar, almond and walnuts, one tablespoon at a time and mix with a spatula until smooth.
• Add vanilla and rum or almond extract.
• Drop batter with a tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches in between cookies. Alternatively you can use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" plain tip.
• Dust with some icing sugar (optional)
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift together the ground almonds and the icing sugar onto a sheet of parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a clean stainless-steel bowl, whip egg whites with pinch of salt until they just start to hold peaks. Add the 2 tbsp. sugar and whip on high until they hold soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract and whip on high for a further minute or until whites hold stiff peaks.
• Gradually add almond mixture into whites, by pouring in a steady stream and folding gently but quickly until no traces of almonds remain visible. Do not continue to fold further or whites will deflate.
• Pour and scrape into a piping bag with plain tip and pipe rounds about 1-inch in diameter, (leaving an inch between them) onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake at 425 degrees F. for 3 minutes or until skin just forms on cookies. Remove from oven, open door and reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. Place trays back in oven and prop door slightly ajar. Bake just until golden and crisp on outside, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven. To immediately cool down the macaroons and to stop them from cooking from the residual heat of the baking sheet: lift the parchment paper and pour a little water between the baking sheet and the parchment paper. (Don't let the cookies get wet). Let stand 5 minutes and begin removing macaroons onto a cooling rack. Make about 30 macaroons.

GREEK ALMOND MACAROONS (MARONHINOS OR MARTSAPADES)

Steps:

• Combine the 2 cups almonds and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a food processor and grind as fine as possible.
• Add the egg whites and almond extract to the almond mixture and process until well blended. Add the remaining 1 cup sugar and process again until a thick paste forms. Set the paste aside for 30 minutes (it will continue to thicken).
• Preheat the oven to 300°F Coat two or three baking sheets with oil or butter.
• Drop tablespoon amounts of the almond paste mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between. Place an almond slice on top of each one. Bake for 20 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until the macaroons are lightly golden on the bottom, 5 minutes more.
• Remove the baking sheets from the oven and loosen the macaroons. Set them aside to cool completely on the sheets. Serve right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Makes 36 Macaroons.
• NOTE: You can also pipe the almond paste onto the baking sheets through a pastry tube, as is traditionally done.
• MACAROONS GREEK-AMERICAN STYLE.
• When the Greeks were introduced to chocolate, they went quite treloi, "crazy" for it, and now dozens of chocolate treats fill the display cases in sweet stores. Chocolate is not, however, much used in home baking. In a Greek-American touch, a drizzle of chocolate adds just enough of the rich taste without overwhelming the subtleties of the macaroons.
• Heat the chocolate pieces and liquid together in a small saucepan or in a microwave oven until the chocolate is soft but not bubbling, about 1 minutes. Whisk to smooth the mixture and then heat it a few seconds longer until it is runny but not boiling. Brush or drizzle a little of the chocolate over the top of each macaroon. Set aside to cool until the chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes. Serve right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Adventures In Greek Cooking.