Impress with these posh cookies. This recipe makes cookies that are lacy, crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. What makes the recipe for these lemon-scented almond cookies even more special is that they are made with only four ingredients and are both gluten-free and dairy-free. This makes them perfect for holiday entertainment when people with food intolerances are more likely to be around.
Almond and lemon cookies take only minutes to prepare. Pop all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them with a spoon. No beating or kneading at all! One needs to be careful with the oven temperature though. These cookies need to bake at higher temperature for a few minutes to set and then at lower temperature to allow the egg whites to dry.
These cookies will be very soft when they get out of the oven. You must allow them to cool perfectly before peeling them off the non-stick baking sheet. Don’t panic if they spread. While they are still warm you can gently pull them to shape with the help of two dinner knives. The outside will be golden brown and crispy but the centre will remain chewy and gooey which makes the cookies even more moreish.
80 Calories 4 or 5 Ingredients 55 Minutes 24 Servings
Ingredients
2 small egg whites
160g icing sugar, sifted
zest of one lemon
180g flaked almonds
3 tbsp almond flour (optional)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 3 . Line two baking sheets and grease the liners with a very small amount of cooking oil and wipe off with paper towels.
2. Put the icing sugar, lemon zest and egg whites in a medium-sized bowl. Mix with a spoon. Add the flaked almonds (and the almond flour if using) and mix gently to coat the almond flakes.
3. Using two teaspoons drop the batter about 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) apart on one of the lined baking sheets. It would be best to drain as much of the runny whites mixture as you can to avoid too much spreading of the cookies. The whites should just coat the flakes thinly.
4. Put the first baking sheet in the oven right away and bake for 8 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and bake for 8-10 minutes longer or until the cookies are golden.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you are preparing the second batch. At this stage you can use knives or teaspoons to neaten the shape of the baked cookies.Increase the oven heat to 170C/340F again and bake the second batch as explained above. Once all the cookies are cooled peel them off the non-stick liner and store between layers of wax paper in an airtight cookie tin or container.
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