Recipe: Pine Nut Macaroons

Recipe

Pine Nut Macaroons

These are delightful little cookies. A little chewy, not overly sweet, and with a lingering taste of toasted pine nuts. They go beautifully with a good cup of coffee, or with juicy, ripe pears. A nut note: Before they're sliced or slivered, shelled almonds are either blanched (skinned) or left natural (brown skin intact). Either one is fine for this. The natural ones will make macaroons flecked with brown, but that's not a big deal.

Makes about 2 dozen small cookies

You need...

1 hour
350 degree oven
Food processor
Electric mixer
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper or aluminum foil1 cup minus 2 T. powdered sugar
1 cup (4 oz.) almonds
2 egg whites
2 T. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 to 1/2 c. pine nuts

1) Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2) Grind the powdered sugar and almonds together in a food processor until they are very fine.

3) Start whipping the whites. When they are foamy, add one tablespoon of powdered sugar. When they are creamy, add the other. Whip until they are stiff.

4) Fold the ground almonds and vanilla into the whites.

5) Use a spoon and a wet finger to put dollops of batter on your cookie sheet. Leave about half an inch between cookies.

6) Scatter the pine nuts over them and bake until they are light brown, about 15 minutes. Let them cool before peeling them off the paper.