Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place the oven rack in the lowest position possible in your oven.
  2. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
  3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  4. Place the sugar, confectioners' sugar, orange zest and salt in the bowl of a food processor together with the steel knife.
  5. Grind the zest very find with the sugar.
  6. This will usually take 3 20-second whirls of the processor.
  7. Scrape the work bowl with a spatula in between whirls and stir up the sugar mixture.
  8. Scatter the diced almond paste evenly over the sugar mixture and give the processor about two more 10 seconds whirls.
  9. The texture should be like coarse meal.
  10. Again, scrape the work bowl in between whirls.
  11. Add the egg whites and mix with about two 5 second whirls.
  12. Don't forget to scrape the bowl at half-time.
  13. Remove the steel knife and set aside.
  14. Working directly from the food processor bowl, scoop up the dough in rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls and drop onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
  15. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, these babies really spread as they bake.
  16. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until lightly browned and crackly on top, about 20-25 minutes.
  17. Remove the cookies together with the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool.
  18. To remove the cooled cookies from the paper, loosen them carefully around the edges with a spatula, using short strokes.
  19. These are not brittle cookies, and you should get the hang of it soon enough.
  20. You can layer the macaroons between sheets of wax paper in an airtight Tupperware, and store them in a cool, dry spot.