I’ve been baking these cookies frequently for years now, and we still haven’t grown tired of them yet because they are so delicious! Years ago I made the first batch because I had some leftover egg whites with almonds only, and I have to give the credit to Kees for suggesting to add ground coconut as well.

Ingredients

150 grams (5.3 oz) white almonds

75 grams (2.6 oz) ground coconut

250 grams (8.8 oz) (vanilla-scented white castersugar (obtained by keeping vanilla beans in the sugar jar)

100 grams (about 3) egg whites (3.5 oz)

grated zest of one lemon

1 tsp natural almond aroma

pinch of salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 160C/320F.

Put the almonds in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.

Process until fine as shown. (Alternatively, you could also buy almond flour.)

Add ground coconut, sugar, grated lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Process briefly to mix the ingredients.

Add almond aroma and egg whites and process until mixed. The dough will be coherent and slightly sticky.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put 25 heaps of dough of around 1 tablespoon on the sheet, leaving at least 1 cm (1/2 inch) in between because they will spread during baking.

Bake for 25 minutes at 160C/320F until golden. If you prefer, you can bake a few minutes longer until brown.

The macarons will come out soft. This is normal! Just wait for them to cool off.

After they have cooled off, gently turn them over to let the bottom dry as well.

The cookies can be stored up to a week in an airtight container. They are best on the 2nd day and after that they will dry out slowly.