1/2 c Slivered almonds
1 c Sugar
5 tb Dutch process cocoa powder
3 tb Cornstarch
1 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
4 lg Egg whites
1/4 ts Cream of tartar
1 ts Pure vanilla extract
1/4 ts Pure almond extract
1 1/2 oz Semisweet or, bittersweet
-(not unsweetened) chocolate
Just got back from the Disney Institute again and as always, I had a
marvelous time. You guys have got to go! I took: Imagineering!, Radio
Drama, Outdoor Photography, Celebrations!, Boxing Aerobics, Animation
Sampler, Romantic Dinners, Canoe Adventures and Taste of the Word: Bayou.
Culinary Technique: Cover Page Cooking: Recipes Featured in Eating Well
Magazine: Holiday Issue Culinary Technique is a class where the pick a
specific aspect of cooking and really give you the ins and outs of it.
Cover Page Cooking is a new class that from these results, I hope they keep
around. Cover Page takes the recipes that are featured on the “cover” of
magazines and shows you how to prepare and present them to look just as
good.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper;
set aside.
Spread almonds in a pie pan and bake for 5 -10 minutes, or until lightly
toasted. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees F.
In a food processor, pulse the toasted almonds with 1/3 cup of the sugar
until finely chopped. Add cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon and pulse just
until mixed; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on low speed
just until frothy. Add cream of tartar, increase the mixer speed to medium
and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 2/3 cup sugar,
2 tablespoons at a time, beating until the whites form firm,but still
moist, peaks. Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat just until blended.
In 2 additions, gently fold the reserved cocoa mixture into the beaten
whites just until blended.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of the batter. 1 inch apart, onto the prepared
baking sheets, or pipe the batter through a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2
inch plain tip. Bake, using both oven racks, for 1 1/2 hours, alternating
the positions of the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. Turn
oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven for 1 hour, then peel them
off the parchment paper.
Melt chocolate in a small bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water or
in the microwave. Use a small pastry brush to apply a thin coating of
chocolate to the flat side of the meringues. Let the meringues stand,
chocolate side up, until chocolate has set.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Yields
1 Servings