Macaroons

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Using a small sharp knife, split the 8 extra almonds in half lengthways and set aside.
2. Put the remaining 100g blanched almonds in a food processor and whizz until they’re coarsely ground. Scoop out 30g and set aside. Add the sugar to the remainder in the
   food processor and whizz briefly until the nuts are very finely ground.
3. Put the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and, using an electric hand mixer, whisk for about 15 seconds until they’re foamy and aerated. Stir in the nut and sugar mixture, the reserved coarsely ground nuts, the ground rice or semolina and the almond extract.
4. Spoon the mixture into the piping bag then, holding the nozzle 1cm above the baking sheet, pipe about 1½ tbsp mixture for each macaroon to make 16 in all, leaving plenty of space in between to allow for spreading during baking.
5. Put an almond half, rounded side up, in the centre of each macaroon and bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and pale golden in the centre. Slide the biscuits, still on the paper, onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
6. If you’ve used rice paper (which is edible), cut around each macaroon to remove the excess. Or, if you’ve used non-stick baking paper, lift off the macaroons. Store in an airtight jar or tin.