In Greek: αμυγδαλωτά, pronounced ah-meegh-thah-loh-TAH
These are favorite cookies all over Greece. The recipe calls for blanched almonds, sugar, egg whites, lemon juice, bread crumbs, and self-rising flour. The key to working with the dough (which is very granular) is to coat hands with seed oil (sunflower or other) while forming the cookies so the dough doesn’t stick.
Amygthalota: Almond Cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 pounds of blanched almonds, finely chopped (not pulverized)
- 2 tablespoons of toasted bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of self-rising flour
- ———-
- baking parchment paper (optional)
- a little seed oil for hands and parchment (if using)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C).
Beat the egg whites and sugar until foamy. With a wooden spoon, stir in all remaining cookie ingredients until well mixed (the mixture will be similar to Rice Krispies with marshmallow).
Lightly oil hands before making the cookies. Take a large handful of dough and squeeze to make a cohesive mass. Form into flattened log-shaped cookies about 1 inch across and 3 inches long. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet or on lightly oiled baking parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake at 340°F (170°C) for about 30 minutes until golden.
Note:Watch the cookies carefully toward the end of cooking time. They can get very dark very quickly.
Remove from cookie sheet and cool.
Yield: about 24-30 cookies
Optional: Blanch a few more almonds and separate into halves. Decorate the top of each cookie with one or more halves before baking.
