I got an excellent lesson in one of my all-time favorite baked goods from Fran's oven: almond macaroons. Here's the recipe we used, originally from Julia Child and adapted by Fran Raboff:
Makes 2 dozen macaroons 2 inches (5cm) in diameter.
Ingredients:
8 ounces almond paste
1 cup (1/4 L) sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
pinch of salt
1/4 to 3/4 cup egg whites (2 to 4 whites)
Equipment:
Food processor, 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper or brown paper.
Instructions:
Prepare cookie sheets, but do not grease them or grease the paper. Preheat oven to 325 F, set racks in lower and upper middle levels.
Cut almond paste into 1/2-inch pieces. Put into container of processor and cut up finely by pulsing processor. When almond paste resembles coarse brown sugar, add granulated sugar and process again in spurts. Scrape down sides of container with spatula. Add almond extract, salt, and 1/4 cup egg whites, and process until no lumps of almond paste remain. Mixture should hold onto a spatula. If it's too stiff, add more egg white and process again.
Remove mixture to a bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon. Use pastry bag or drop mixture from a spoon to form 3/4 inch blobs on the paper, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, switching sheets on the racks halfway through. Macaroons are done when lightly brown and crusty on top.
When cool, turn parchment paper over and dampen the back until macaroons come off easily.
Then the fun part.
Melt in a saucepan over water at low heat:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp corn syrup
Dip, dip, dip. Thanks Fran!
I got an excellent lesson in one of my all-time favorite baked goods from Fran's oven: almond macaroons. Here's the recipe we used, originally from Julia Child and adapted by Fran Raboff:
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