Ginger Macaroons

 We went over to my parent’s house this weekend, as they were having some computer troubles. While I was there, I ended up looking at this new cookbook that they had, The Four Ingredient Cookbook. Interesting, it seems like most recipes call for many more ingredients. I took a look through the dessert section and there were a couple of cookies that looked good, so I took photos of a couple of things so I could give them a try. This cookbook was also British, and I’m always looking for a good British recipe.

One of the recipes I noted was this recipe for Ginger Macaroons. I love ginger, and as we are moving towards fall, I’ll be using ginger more and more. Macaroons can be a lot of different things; these don’t use coconut, but instead use ground almonds. You could probably use coconut if you wanted, or any other type of ground nut. This is really a flexible recipe. I used almonds since I had them, and I do like almond and ginger together. 

I found it a little hard to whip just one egg white, as my mixer is on the bigger side. I just let the mixer go to it until the egg white formed soft peaks. Add the brown sugar and keep mixing, and it does take a while. I find that the brown sugar meringue is fairly strong and I didn’t worry about deflating the mixture while folding in the almonds. I worried that the cookies would look like ugly mounds when they came out of the oven, but no, they were perfectly shaped flat cookies. The cookies are wonderfully crisp and have a great flavor. This was a simple recipe with few ingredients, but I was so pleased!

Ginger Macaroons

1 egg white

1/3 cup/75 grams packed brown sugar

1 cup/ 115 grams ground almonds

1 teaspoon ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Place the egg white into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment, on medium-high to high, until soft peaks form. Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating the mixture until stiff peaks form. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sprinkle the ground almonds and ginger on top of the whipped egg whites. Fold the mixture together with a spatula. Do not over mix and deflate the egg.

Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop the meringue onto the baking sheet. Allow 2 inches between each macaroon, as they spread during baking.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Recipe from The Four Ingredient Cookbook