Almond Macaroons
Great lunchbox treat or as part of a lady's high tea!
1 cup icing sugar
2 eggs
2 cups ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup shredded coconut
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg white, extra
Additional coconut
Additional icing sugar for dusting
Pre-heat oven to 180°C
In an electric mixer, beat the icing sugar with the eggs until it is very pale and fluffy, add vanilla essence.
In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Gradually add the dry mix to the egg and sugar mix until it forms a soft pliable dough. Knead for 2 minutes, then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Roll out your dough into a long sausage and cut into teaspoon size pieces and roll into balls. Dip the balls in the extra egg white and roll macaroons in additional shredded coconut. Lay out on a greased and floured a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with additional icing sugar as soon as the macaroons come out of the oven.
Variation : chopped glacé cherries can be added, as can orange zest or flaked almonds. Note – This is a very light biscuit mix, heavy flavours (such as chocolate) tend not to work as well.