Almond Orange Macaroons Recipes

ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients until blended. Drop mixture by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets., Bake 16-20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Drizzle cookies with melted chocolate; let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

ALMOND ORANGE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Place the oven rack in the lowest position possible in your oven.
• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the sugar, confectioners' sugar, orange zest and salt in the bowl of a food processor together with the steel knife.
• Grind the zest very find with the sugar.
• This will usually take 3 20-second whirls of the processor.
• Scrape the work bowl with a spatula in between whirls and stir up the sugar mixture.
• Scatter the diced almond paste evenly over the sugar mixture and give the processor about two more 10 seconds whirls.
• The texture should be like coarse meal.
• Again, scrape the work bowl in between whirls.
• Add the egg whites and mix with about two 5 second whirls.
• Don't forget to scrape the bowl at half-time.
• Remove the steel knife and set aside.
• Working directly from the food processor bowl, scoop up the dough in rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls and drop onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
• Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, these babies really spread as they bake.
• Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until lightly browned and crackly on top, about 20-25 minutes.
• Remove the cookies together with the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool.
• To remove the cooled cookies from the paper, loosen them carefully around the edges with a spatula, using short strokes.
• These are not brittle cookies, and you should get the hang of it soon enough.
• You can layer the macaroons between sheets of wax paper in an airtight Tupperware, and store them in a cool, dry spot.

ORANGE-COCONUT MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Process granulated sugar and orange zest in a food processor until combined, about 3 minutes. Add almond paste; process 1 minute. Add egg whites, orange juice, confectioners' sugar, flour, half of the coconut, and the salt; process 1 minute. Remove blade, scraping batter into bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in remaining coconut.
• Drop rounded teaspoons of batter on to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake macaroons until the edges start to turn brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer parchment and macaroons to a wire rack; let cool completely.

PINCHED ORANGE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Beat 1 egg white, the almond paste, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add Grand Marnier and orange zest, and beat until combined, about 1 minute.
• Turn out dough onto a clean surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar, and roll into two 3/4-inch-thick logs, about 18 inches long. Cut each log crosswise into thirty 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
• Lightly beat remaining egg white. Brush onto each dough ball, and roll in sugar, tapping to remove excess. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. Let stand for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently pinch each piece of dough with three fingers to form an irregular pyramid shape. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks, and let cool completely. (Macaroons can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

ITALIAN ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the almond paste, egg whites and lemon extract until smooth. Sift together the white sugar and confectioners' sugar, then combine sugars with the flour and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture along with the food coloring of your choice. Drop by teaspoonfuls, two inches apart, onto the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle some nuts on top of each cookie.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are golden around the edges. Cool for a few minutes on baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store or freeze in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE-ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Finely grind the almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor.
• Separate one of the eggs and add the white, the other egg, and almond extract and process until the mixture holds together. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chocolate.
• Moisten hands and roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten to 1/3-inch thick rounds.
• Bake until tops puff and centers are still soft, about 12 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool completely. Replace parchment paper for next round of cookies.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine egg whites, unblanched almonds and sugar and grind, using fine blade of meat grinder or food processor. Mixture should be fairly thick and fine and should drop off spoon in a mass.
• Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between them. Top each with slice of blanched almond.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cookies turn pale brown. Remove from pan when cool.

ALMOND-CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with foil. Butter foil and dust with flour. Finely grind almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in processor. Add egg, egg white and almond extract and process until mixture holds together. Transfer to bowl. Stir in chocolate.
• Using moistened hands, roll mixture into 1-inch balls and place on prepared sheets. Flatten to 1/3-inch thick rounds. Bake macaroons until tops puff and centers are still soft, about 12 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.)

PASSOVER COCONUT, ALMOND, ORANGE, CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
• In a medium bowl, with electric mixer on high, beat egg whites into soft peaks. Gradually add sugar and salt, beating after each addition until peaks are glossy. Fold in vanilla and orange zest. Fold in coconut and nuts.
• With hands, roll heaping tablespoonfuls of mixture into rounds and set on baking sheets. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on racks.
• Place chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 25 second increments until chocolate chips are shiny.
• Dip bottoms of macaroons in chocolate.