Macarons, with their crisp shells and soft fillings, are the current darlings of the pastry scene. Admittedly tricky to make, their finicky nature has resulted in countless, wildly different recipes to produce ‘proper’ macarons, with thin, crisp, un-cracked shells and bubbly ‘feet’ at the base. This recipe uses an Italian meringue as its [...]
All too often, amaretti recipes are based on commercial almond paste, producing a gummy, overly-sweet, lifeless cookie with an overpowering marzipan flavor and no crunch. These are nutty, crunchy morsels with a chewy, almond-y center. They are delicious as-is, but if you are the sort inclined to gild all passing lillies on [...]
Yet another member of the wide-ranging Mexican Wedding Cookie/Russian Tea Cake family, Almond Crescents are buttery, only lightly sweet, and somewhere between crisp and crumbly. Finely-milled almond flour and a touch of walnut oil are the secret to their rich taste and tender, delicate texture. Almond Crescents keep well stored in a tightly-sealed container, although their confectioner’s sugar coating can get a bit spotty-looking if they are stored for a while, so give them a final roll in the sugar before serving to restore their snowy-white appearance.