Monday 11 January 2010

Macaroons

It's been some time since i've cooked something special for my little tiger!!! And recently he has been calling me "yummy-mommy" quite often, which makes me think - 'has he inherited his Dad's skill of pulling others legs!!!???'.  Hence, I decided to bake something and keep the reputation literally true.

Macaroons, I thought, is a good idea!!! The almond flavour makes it taste like I've spend an eternity baking!!! Not just the little one, but all of us keep nibbling on it until it's over and my little tiger keeps complaining, "Hey, it's made for me...only for me...".

I wanted the aroma to linger in the house when he was back from school to hear him asking, "What have you made? Smells yummy...gimme that."  :).  So made it in the afternoon and was rewarded with the prompt query i was looking for...Yippeee...





You will need...

Egg whites - 2 meduim  or 3 small eggs
Caster sugar - 200-225gm (It was sweeter than the usual cookies, so adjust according to your preference)
Ground almonds - 130 gm
Almond extract - few drops
Blanched almonds - 25 - 30

In a clean bowl whisk egg whites stiff. Gradually fold in the sugar.  Mix the ground almonds and almond extract to make a paste. Spoon teaspoonfulls of the mixture into baking trays lined with baking parchment, spacing them apart. Press an almond into the centre of each one and bake at 180 degree celcius, gas mark 4 for aprox 15 minutes or until golden and firm when touched. Take out and give a 7 -10 minutes standing time and then  cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. On cooling they have a soft chewy centre and harden up after a few days.

Egg whites beaten until stiff peaks form
Recipe Reference - Good housekeeping cookery book

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