Macaroons, said to originate from Belgium, are another wonderful Cypriot wedding biccie.  Carrying on my theme from last week and seeing as it’s Bayram this weekend, I thought another sweet would do the trick.  I love these sticky sweet almondy medallions as I like to call them that are traditionally baked on rice paper.  The word bastic is very fitting, almost onomatopoeic in a way.  They are gooey and get stuck on your teeth as you eat them but I love ‘em, call me a glutton for punishment.  Just don’t eat too many as they are known to cause a slight burning in the back of the throat after about three, trust me, I know!  Afiyet olsun.

You will need (this quantity will make 25 biscuits:

125 Ground almonds (if you can’t find the ground type then put blanched almonds in a food grinder or hand blender and whiz on high until the almonds are ground down but not into a paste.)

225g Caster sugar – natural golden is good.

Quarter of a teaspoon of Almond extract – make sure it’s natural extract and not flavouring.

2 Medium Eggs – whites only.

Rice paper, cut into rounds

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to gas mark 4 (180*C). Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until they form stiff peaks. 

Now a tip here:  If you are whisking by hand make sure that every tool and bowl you are using is completely bone dry.  Whites are sensitive little things, the slightest sense of water or oil and those whites won’t whisk up for love nor money!  Also, if you can invest in a good balloon whisk, the more strands it has the better it is.  If you have the benefit of a machine then start on a slow speed and gradually pick up the pace!.  With egg whites there are soft peaks and stiff peaks, soft peaks are formed first and still look slightly transparent, a bit like foam.  Stiff peaks however look beautiful, thick and glossy and if the bowl is turned upside down over your head the whites will stay intact in the bowl.  Don’t over whisk otherwise the whole process is reversed would you believe and you lose that gorgeous stiffness.

Once you have your stiff peaks, do the rest by hand (if you have used a machine).  Gradually fold in your sugar, then very gently stir in the ground almonds and almond extract to make a paste.

Lay the rice paper on a baking sheet and spoon teaspoonfuls of the mixture in to the centre of each piece, spacing them very slightly apart so they don’t spread out and stick to each other in cooking.  Now push one blanched almond in to the centre of each macaroon.

Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until just golden and firm to the touch.  You will see the tops almost crack, this is a macaroon characteristic.  Leave on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Remove any excess rice paper.  These will store for a week or wrap them in cellophane like at weddings and give them as gifts.