Almond Eggs - Uova di Mandorle ___

Almond Eggs - Uova di Mandorle

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 1 pound whole peeled almonds
  • 0.5 pound granulated sugar
  • 3 egg whites
  • lemons, zest only
  • 4 drops red food coloring
  • all purpose flour for dusting the bottoms

For the Glaze:

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and set aside.

Place the almonds in a food processor and process for exactly 2 minutes.

Place the almonds in a bowl and add the sugar, egg whites and lemon zest. Mix until a thick paste comes together.

Divide the almond paste into 4 equal parts in separate bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl and mix together until the color is uniform.  Chill the dough for at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once the dough is chilled roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper using 1/4 inch rolling guides.

Cut out different sized eggs with cookie cutters.

Dust the bottoms with four and transfer to the baking sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Avoid moving the cookies off the foil until they cool. The cookies will be soft right out of the oven. They will firm up as they cool.

Cool completely before decorating.

To decorate with sugar glaze stir the sugar and milk together until you have a liquid glaze. For a thinner glaze add milk by the teaspoon until you reach your desired consistency.

Dip each heart halfway in the glaze. Lay on a wire rack and decorate with sprinkles while the glaze is still wet. Allow the glaze to dry completely before serving.