Friday, May 7, 2010

Almond Cloud Cookies


Ahh, the busy-ness of life. With my new rotation and trying to pack for our big move, I haven't tried a new recipe for over two weeks!

But, this post is about these fabulous almond cookies. Warning, these aren't cheap to make. I think the almond paste alone will get you for $6-10. The cookies are very, and I mean very, sweet. The first bite is delicious, and then the next I feel is a sugar overload. The next time I make them, I might try adding less sugar. That being said, these are the closest things I've found to the almond cookies from my favorite Italian bakery, Vaccaro's in Baltimore.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

* 10 ounces almond paste
* 1 cup sugar (7 ounces)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
* 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/8 teaspoon extra-strong bitter almond oil
* Confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar, for topping

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2) Blend the almond paste, sugar, and salt until the mixture becomes uniformly crumbly; this is best done in a stand mixer.

3) Add the egg whites gradually, while mixing, to make a smooth paste.

4) Stir in the flavorings.

5) Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared pans.

6) Sprinkle the cookies heavily with confectioners' sugar, then use three fingers to press an indentation into the center of each cookie.

7) Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan.

Yield: 21 cookies.

4 comments:

Susi's Kochen und Backen said...

These sound delicious but I have a question about the extra strong bitter almond oil. Where can you buy this? All I've ever used and seen at the grocery store is almond extract.

Amanda said...

I ordered it through King Arthur's Website. I've also seen it at Penzey's spices. Honestly, they are extremely almond-y and you could probably go without.

Anonymous said...

Hello from germany (Bavaria-perhaps you have ever heard from "Münchner Oktoberfest)
I know this recipe from the website but here in my country I can´t get any almond paste.
Marzipan I can buy in every supermarket is not the same. Do you think I can bake this cookies with marzipan also?
Thank you for posting.
Mama Bavaria

Amanda said...

I've only made them once and I don't have any experience with marzipan. King Arthur Flour, where I found this recipe, has a baking help line on their website and they are always so eager to help, so they might know better!

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