Almond macaroons
- Published: 17 May 19
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
These sweet almond macaroons, traditionally eaten during the eight-day Jewish festival of Passover, are easy to make from few ingredients. This gluten-free heirloom recipe was sent to us by delicious. reader Miriam Lewis; it was passed down to Miriam through her mother’s family.
Miriam says: “My family have been making these for generations, even in the 1940s when almonds were scarce, and eggs and sugar were rationed.”
If you’re looking for the French version, you can find an easy-to-make macaroon recipe here.
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Makes 30 -
Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 15-20 min, plus resting
Nutrition
- Calories
- 83kcals
- Fat
- 4.7g (0.4g saturated)
- Protein
- 2.5g
- Carbohydrates
- 7.6g (7.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- nil
- Salt
- nil
delicious. tips
Don’t be tempted to top with flaked almonds instead of the halved blanched almonds as they’ll burn.
If you’re making several batches of macaroons, I recommend using egg whites from a carton. They’re easy, there’s no wastage and the whites are liquefied, which makes them easier to work with.
Some people like the biscuits flatter and crisper, while some (like us) prefer them round and chewy. You can add the zest of half an orange but purists will object.
If you can wait, these mini sweet bites taste better the day after baking, and even better the day after that.
Passover commemorates the Jewish people’s hasty Exodus from Egypt. The Bible tells that this left no time for even the bread to rise, so yeast-leavened and most wheat products are symbolically avoided during Passover, and substituted with ground almonds and potato flour. Most British Jews from an Ashkenazic (Central or Eastern European) background, even those who don’t often eat biscuits, will find themselves unable to drink a cup of tea at Passover without a plate of these almond macaroons on the table to at least look at.