Substitute blanched almonds for the cashews and almond extract for the vanilla extract.Cashews are a nut often overlooked when baking cookies, and these nutty macaroons will make you a convert.
Yield: 3 dozen
Active time: 15 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes
2 cups raw cashews
11/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Gluten-free sugar sprinkles
36 cashews for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
2. Combine cashews and sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until nuts are finely ground. Add egg whites, salt, and vanilla to the food processor, and process until well combined.
3. Form dough into 1-inch balls, and roll them in sugar sprinkles. Arrange cookies on the baking sheets, and press a cashew in the center of each.
4. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly brown. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, and then transfer them with a spatula to cooling racks to cool completely.
Variation
Substitute blanched almonds for the cashews and almond extract for the vanilla extract.
Egg white is very high in protein, with almost no fat, and virtually no cholesterol. It has merely 13 percent of the calories of a whole egg, and the other nutrient in egg whites is B-2 or riboflavin.
