No, not those fancy French ones, but traditional, light and melt-in-the-mouth ones. They started disappearing from the cooling rack and didn’t last very long in the cake tin as they were very moreish.
Macaroons – makes at least 16 biscuits
- 2 large egg whites
- 8 blanched almonds
- 100g ground almonds
- 175g caster sugar
- 25g ground rice, or semolina
- almond extract (optional)
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C / 130°Fan / Gas 2.
Line two baking trays with parchment.
Halve the blanched almonds and dip into the egg whites. Set these aside.
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gently fold in the ground almonds, sugar, ground rice or semolina, and a few drops of almond essence if using.
Spoon teaspoon amounts onto the prepared baking sheets. Make circles but don’t flatten too much. Place the reserved almond halves onto the centre of each macaroon.
Bake for 20-25 minutes and until a pale, golden brown. Leave to cool for a few minutes on the trays before lifting off with a palate knife and finishing on wire racks.
(Original recipe from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, BBC Books)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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