greek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalotagreek almond macaroons – amygdalota

BLANCHED ALMONDS - GROUND ALMONDS - ALMOND POWDER - FLAKED or SLIVERED ALMONDS . . . ? You can do this all yourself you know, starting off with plain regular almonds but anyways,  it’s just a thought !

I’ve never made these before, but these babies are one of my favorite greek pastry and bakery items. My mom has never made these either so I had to do my own research, trying out proportions and methods with a minimum of logic and perhaps making it as easy as possible (even though I like complicating my life, or at least the kitchen-part of my life).

AMYGDALOTA or GREEK ALMOND MACAROONS are just a less fancy and less sophisticated French MACARON. They’re not assembled by sandwiching two halves around a creamy or jelly filling. They’re not as smooth nor airy either, kind of coarser and denser and heavier. They don’t come in a variety of colours and flavors, but that’s entirely possible (I can just imagine a green matcha tea version appearing soon of course, right ?!) They’re also alot quicker and easier to make than the French MACARONS (which I used to make often but haven’t made even once since I began this blog … which is weird, huh ?!).

Anyhow, I like the different textures from the finer and coarser ground almonds inside to the crispier slivered or flaked almonds on the outside. Try not to overbake them (they’ll harden when they cool down) and shuffle them around as they’re baking because certain ones will get darker than others because of the oven configurartion and also remember to chill the dough a first time before making the dough balls and also a second time after they’re rolled and covered in flakes, it’s alot easier to work with chilled and firmer dough.

* ... It’s actually one of the first things I crave when I go to Montreal around Easter time (and Montreal-style all-dressed pizza too) but I won’t be going this year (boo-hoooo) so I made these instead and I’m making some more again next week.

That’s all I needed to say, see you soon … :)

greek almond macaroons – amygdalota

07.04.2017

15 macaroons (33 grams each)

ingredients

  • 125 grams (1¼ cup) finely ground almond powder
  • 125 grams (1 cup) coarsely ground almonds
  • 60-75 grams (2/3-3/4 cup) flaked almonds (or slivered, for rolling & coating)
  • 30-33 grams (3 tbsp) wheat semolina (or use cornmeal)
  • 125 grams (1 cup) icing sugar (or use regular sugar in a food-processor and pulse it until finer)
  • 70-75 grams egg whites (from 2 large eggs)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract (add more if not strong in aroma)
  • optional : ½ tbsp orange blossom water
  • 1 pinch of salt

instructions

  • use 300-325 grams whole raw blanched* almonds (almost 2 cups) to make the coarsely ground almonds and the finer almond powder using a food processor and the almond flakes or slivers using a sharp kniffe or a small grater (or simply buy all the prepared almond ingredients separately)

*note : to «blanch» or make ‘skinless’ almonds, boil water, add the almonds and let them boil for 60-90 seconds, then strain in a colander, run under cold water and then pinch the skins off, let the almonds dry out completely at room temperature or for only 5-10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C and then turned off before placing the almonds inside, on a baking tray (to gently dry them) …

  • combine the coarser and finer ground almonds, wheat semolina (or corn meal) and some salt and set aside
  • beat the 2 egg whites with a half pinch of salt and/or 2-3 drops of lemon juice until frothy and stiffer and slowly add the icing sugar and beat until thick and shiny and stiff (like a meringue), add the extracts and orange blossom water at the end and gently stir
  • combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients by folding in with a wooden spoon, until smooth and chill the dough for 25-30 minutes
  • make 15 individual dough balls approximately the size of large walnuts (about 30 gram or 2 tbsp each) by rolling them in between slightly wet palms, then roll them in the almond flakes or slivers and place on a small tray and chill again for 15 minutes
  • preheat the oven to 170°C
  • when chilled, transfer the rolled and coated balls of dough onto a larger baking sheet covered with baking paper, space them out because they will spread a little
  • bake at 170°C for 20 minutes maximum (or until only slightly golden and still slightly soft, not crispy nor dry so remove them immediately when the flaked almonds begin darkening) and rotate the tray after 10 minutes
  • let cool and store in an air-tight container and in a cool space.

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