Nut Macaroons
Whites of 2 eggs 1/2 pound powdered sugar 1/2 tablespoon flour Pinch of salt 1/2 pound chopped nuts Beat the whites very stiff; stir in the sugar, flour and salt and last the nuts. With wet hands roll the mixture into small balls and bake on buttered paper.
A meringue-based nut macaroon with no almond paste and no coconut — the structure comes entirely from stiff egg white, sugar and a half tablespoon of flour. Two things need sorting before you begin: the sugar, and the three stray ingredients at the end.
- Ignore the last line"2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs" does not belong to this recipe; it appears to be the opening ingredient line of whatever followed on the page. Adding butter to a meringue batter would collapse it.
- "Powdered sugar"In American books of this period powdered sugar usually means a fine granulated or superfine sugar, not the cornstarch-cut confectioners' sugar sold under that name today. Caster sugar is the closest match and dissolves properly into the whites; modern confectioners' sugar will give a softer, chalkier cookie.
- Weights, not cupsHalf a pound of sugar is about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of caster sugar; half a pound of chopped nuts is roughly 2 cups. Weigh both — the ratio of sugar to white is what holds these together.
- Oven heatThe recipe gives no temperature. Try 300-325F for 20-25 minutes, until dry to the touch and barely coloured; much hotter and the outsides are likely to colour and crack before the centres set.
- Buttered paperParchment does the job better and needs no butter; on buttered paper the meringue spreads more. Silicone mats work but give a flatter cookie.
- Wet handsThis is the instruction that matters. The batter is intensely sticky and dry hands will pull it apart — keep a bowl of water beside you and re-wet between every two or three balls.
- Beating the whites"Very stiff" means stiff peaks before any sugar goes in, and the sugar should be folded or stirred in gently rather than beaten. Two whites is a small volume; a hand mixer in a narrow bowl is easier than a stand mixer.
- Which nutsUnspecified. Walnuts, pecans or hickory nuts would all suit. Chop them fine; coarse pieces tear the meringue when you roll it.
- Yield and keepingAbout 24 to 30 small macaroons, walnut-sized. Cool completely on the paper before lifting, and store airtight — they go tacky within hours in a humid kitchen.
Macaroon originally meant an almond confection bound with beaten egg white and ground nuts, and the almond version travelled from Italy into France and England long before coconut entered the picture. American cookbooks of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries freely substituted whatever nut was cheap and local, which is why this recipe simply says "chopped nuts" and meant pecans, hickory nuts or black walnuts gathered rather than bought. The half tablespoon of flour is a homely insurance policy against the meringue weeping or spreading, a common addition in household books aimed at cooks working with wood or coal ranges and no reliable thermometer.