Marzipan cookies

Mathew and Rebecca live a few doors down on Warren Street and adopted us from the day we opened. We are always on a mission to plump up skinny Mathew, who does not put on an ounce, even though he comes in almost every day to have cake for elevenses. And we always make sure to have a few gluten-free things for Rebecca, who single-handedly made these cookies a hit.

Makes 9 large or 18 small cookies

generous ½ cup/150g marzipan (best to use a high almond content one—around 60%)

2 large egg whites

¾ cup/100g ground almonds

⅓ cup/50g confectioners’ sugar

zest of ½ orange

heaped 1 tsp sweet spice mix (here)

1–1½ cups/100–150g sliced or slivered almonds, to coat

Break the marzipan into small pieces in a large bowl and beat in the egg whites until it forms a smooth paste. Add the ground almonds, confectioners’ sugar, zest and spice and mix well to combine. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Place the sliced or slivered almonds in a wide bowl. You’ll need two spoons for the next stage. Scoop up a big spoonful of the chilled cookie mix with one spoon and push it off into the almonds with the other. Roll the spoonful of mixture around to coat it all over, then carefully pick it up and place on a baking sheet. Press down to flatten slightly. Leave some space between the cookies, as they do spread a little when baking. You can freeze them on the sheet at this stage, to bake at a later time (just bring them back up to room temperature before baking).

Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the tray around and bake for 5–8 minutes more, until the cookies are a light golden color but still soft to the touch. Allow to cool on the tray. These will keep well in an airtight container for 4–5 days.