These cookies are Mary’s favorite. The recipe comes from The Smitten Kitchen blog, adapted from Gourmet, January 2009. Like Mary, these cookies are very sweet.
Yield: About four dozen cookies
1 (7-ounce) box or can or tube pure almond paste
1 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 large egg whites at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 300°F and place racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.
Pulse almond paste, sugar and salt in a food processor until broken up, then add egg whites and puree until smooth.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on the baking sheet.
Bake, rotating and switching position of pans halfway through, until golden and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes.
When you rotate the pan midway through baking, you’ll wonder why you left so much space between the cookies. Suddenly, at 15 minutes they’ll puff up and you’ll be happy you left that space!
Let cookies cool almost completely in their pans. Once cool, they’re much easier to cleanly remove from the parchment.
Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two or frozen up to one month.