I made these little delights a few weeks ago and wanted to post the recipe just in time for Easter or Passover. These macaroons are delicious little mouthfuls that are perfect for any occasion as spring creeps into our lives. I’ve been so desperate for some sunshine or even blooming flowers so I’ve been baking a lot of really light summery things lately. With their strong lemon flavor, these fit the bill! The original recipe was from the New York Times but I modified it quite a bit. These are a take on the traditional almendrado cookie of Spain which is a cookie made from blanched almonds and heavily whipped egg whites. While made of the same ingredients as macarons, the Spanish cookie is nothing like its French cousin but is still a treat! Almendrados are traditionally flavored with cinnamon and I was delighted to come across this lemon flavored variation.

In reality, these cookies are much simpler to make than the typical almendrados. It’s made of five ingredients and comes together in less than fifteen minutes. The longest part of this recipe is the chilling period between preparing the dough and baking. The chilling period is meant to help dry the cookies out but chilling your cookies also gives the ingredients time to combine into deeper flavors. The original recipe called for chilling for twelve hours or overnight but I’m impatient and I shortened it to six hours. You can do it for the whole twelve hours if you’d like but I thought it wasn’t necessary to wait! The recipe also calls for the zest of one lemon. I used the equivalent of four tablespoons. I love lemons and I will often zest my lemons as soon as I get them and freeze the zest in the little sauce containers you get from eating takeout. This has worked really well for me because I adore strong lemon flavoring and I’ll often just take a container out from the freezer and use the whole thing. I would recommend trying it because it can help to preserve the delicious flavor from summer lemons well into the winter. Let me know if you try this recipe, I really hope that you do! It’s delicious and a nice mouthful of sweetness for the lingering chilly wintery nights that we’re having these days! Happy baking!

Almond Lemon Macaroon Recipe

• 160 grams (1 2/3 cup) almond flour (Original recipe calls for grinding your own blanched almonds but that is time consuming and a LOT of work)
• 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• Zest of 1 lemon or 4 tablespoons of lemon zest
• Additional 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar for topping
• About 30 almonds for decoration

1. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, granulated sugar, and lemon zest. Add the egg and mix well. Alternatively, use a food processor to combine ingredients.
2. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put the additional 50 grams of sugar into a bowl.
4. Tear off pieces of dough (about the size of a walnut) and roll into a ball. Roll in the sugar and press an almond into the top until it is half buried in the dough. Aim the pointy part of the almond into the dough.
5. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until the barest hint of color shows on them. Cookies should still be a little soft when removed from the oven so they don’t harden too much. Cool completely and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!