Almendrados (Almond-Lemon Macaroons)
Updated Nov. 25, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes, plus 12 hours’ refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 2cups whole blanched almonds, plus about 30 almonds for decoration
- 1cup granulated sugar
- 1large egg
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Nutritional analysis per serving (30 servings)
91 calories; 6 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 3 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Using a food processor equipped with a metal blade, grind 2 cups almonds very finely. Add ¾ cup sugar, the egg and lemon zest, and pulse to make a cohesive dough. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Step 2
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner. Place remaining ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl.
- Step 3
Pinching off pieces of dough about the size of a walnut, roll them first into balls, then into sugar. Gently press an almond point first into top of each cookie, so that half the almond can be seen. Arrange cookies one inch apart on baking sheet.
- Step 4
Bake until cookies have barest hint of color but still remain soft, 8 to 10 minutes. (Cookies must be soft when removed from oven to avoid excess hardening when they cool.) Cool completely, and store in an airtight container.
Private Notes
Comments
I used Trader Joe's ground almond meal, 1 1/3 cups equals 2 cups blanched almonds no need to grind. This saved time and was still delicious. I doubled the recipe & added grated orange peel and vanilla powder.
I had to bake them for about 12-13 minutes, so keep an eye on them according to your oven. Many of my guests had recipe requests for these treats. Chewy texture like a macaroon & freezes real well. I made the batter two days before I baked them to save time, were perfect!
1 cup of whole almonds equals approximately 1 1/3 cups of ground almonds (almond meal). 1 cup of ground almonds weighs approximately 5 ounces.
I ground 1 cup of whole almonds to a fine meal in a Cuisinart spice grinder, which took seconds. I then measured the ground almonds by dry cup measure to come to 1 1/3 cups of meal. I then weighed the ground almonds, and they came to a scant 5 ounces. (I think small variations in measures are fine besides inevitable given the antiquity of this recipe)
Absolutely delicious. I had to make some changes, and they're still perfect. I used almond meal instead of ground almonds, added a bit of lemon juice in addition to the zest (I might add more next time - I like them a bit more lemony), and only had about 30 minutes to chill the dough (which made them messy to form but they came out perfectly).
They taste almost exactly like pignoli, so I may also try them coated in pine nuts.
Easy and delicious.
Kind of meh! And I really wanted to love them. I used a lot of lemon zest but it didn't come through as strongly as I hoped. Next time more zest. Also maybe a drop of almond extract?
Delicious! I made this vegan by using aquafaba (3 tblsp chickpea liquid) in place of an egg. As per comments I used 1 1/3 cups almond flour and added vanilla. I did only get 12 cookies from this recipe. I did not roll in sugar as I didn’t want them to be too sweet & they were certainly sweet enough!
These were very tasty. There were conflicting notes about weight & volume of the nuts in the comments. I found that 2 cups = 10.5 oz = 300 gm. I ground them in the Vitamix down to a scant 2 cups. I was surprised that they didn't lose much volume at all. I think it could use another egg since the batter didn't want to hold together. I bought roasted, unsalted almonds from TJ’s. I was told in my local store that TJ’s no longer sells almond meal.
Advertisement