http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017311-almond-walnut-thumbprint-macaroons
On my first attempt, I basically followed the directions (!). I left out the cardamom and used regular water instead of rosewater because I don't keep those ingredients around. Blanching the almonds seemed like a nuisance, so I didn't. I tasted the batter and decided it was already too sweet, so I didn't bother with the raspberry jam. And I didn't have any pistachios either. They turned out pretty delicious despite those issues. And they were even better the next day, having softened up a little.
Even though the raspberry jam feature initially drew me to this recipe, I'm too lazy. I'm also too lazy to use two egg whites plus a whole egg. Maybe two whole eggs works almost as well. Cutting out half the sugar has to be an improvement. And I really like a lemony flavor along with nuttiness, so I added zest of a lemon and a splash of lemon juice.
The result is a much simplified recipe:
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ¾ cups/250 grams blanched almonds
- 1 ½ cups/125 grams walnuts
- ½ cup/100 grams sugar
- zest of one lemon (1 Tbs should be enough)
- splash (1 tsp or 1 Tbs) of lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Put the almonds in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until mostly powdered with a few crunchy bits remaining. Transfer to the bowl with the eggs.
- Put the walnuts in the food processor and pulse until mostly powdered. Add the walnuts to the almonds and eggs.
- Add the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, then mix thoroughly.
- Cover with a towel and let the mixture sit for at least 8 hours or overnight to dry out a bit (in the refrigerator should be fine).
- Dampen your hands with a bit of water and scoop up about a tablespoon of the dough at a time, pressing it into walnut-size balls. Place the cookies on the baking sheets about an inch apart and flatten them slightly.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until golden and firm, rotating the pans halfway through.
