Wouldn’t it be great – for a change – to approach the festivities stress-free? No more last-minute gift shopping or baking? That would be awesome! Wouldn’t it? So, as impatient as I am, I am looking for baking recipes that don’t take that long. And let me tell you, this one here is so quick to prepare! It is not only easy to make but even more soft and chewy! Simply perfect! 

I have been looking at this recipe for a while now, since I bought the magazine. It has been on my to-do list since then. Oh, I had no idea what I have missed so far! How can these few ingredients turn out into something so good? The entire kitchen was suddenly filled with an orange and almond scent…mmmh. As much as I love chocolate, this is probably one of the best alternatives I’ve ever eaten! Or at least a supplement to chocolate treats.

I love especially the idea of using an empty orange as a gift box. So cute! It didn’t take me much to prepare it either. Who wouldn’t enjoy receiving such a sweet gift for the Holidays? Remember though, to bake enough for yourself too ;)

Ingredients:

1 (medium) egg white

50 g / 1¾ oz of powdered sugar

2 tsp of freshly pressed orange juice

100 g / 3½ oz of blanched ground almonds

zest of an orange

*  *  *  *  *

Preheat the oven at 180°C / 356°F.

Beat the egg white until stiff. Keep stirring while adding  the orange juice and sugar. Fold in the almonds(*) and the orange zest.

Take some batter with a teaspoon and drop it in little mounds on a baking paper covered baking sheet.

Bake for 10min.

(*) You can blanch and grind the almonds yourself, by letting the almonds simmer for a few minutes in a pot with hot water. Rinse with cold water. Now you can easily remove the skin. Make sure to dry them well before you grind them. My experience with several other recipes that require blenched ground almonds is, that when I do that myself, the cookies tend to be even more chewy. That is because the previously simmered almonds won’t dry completely. They will stay moist, contrary to the ones from the store.

Orange gift box:

Cut an orange in half and scoop it out. Let both halves dry for about 2h. Coat with baking paper. Decorate with a ribbon.

Prep Time: 30min.

Serves approx. 30 macaroons

Adapted from: Lust auf Genuss (13/2012)