MacAroon Jam Slices
Submitted by rjkiel
Macaroon jam slices made with ground walnuts and egg whites, shaped into logs with a jam-filled channel. A European-style flourless cookie with apricot or raspberry jam.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
15 minREADY
50 minThese elegant cookies are built on a simple macaroon paste: ground walnuts, sugar, and egg whites kneaded into a dough just firm enough to shape by hand. No flour at all, which makes them naturally gluten-free and gives them a dense, chewy texture with an almost marzipan-like quality.
The shaping technique is the charming part. You roll the paste into long logs, then press a channel down the center with your finger. After baking until lightly golden, hot jam fills those channels like a river of sweet fruit running through each log. Once cooled, you slice into ¾-inch pieces, each one showing off a cross-section of walnut cookie framing a jewel-like center of jam.
Apricot preserves or raspberry jam are both suggested, and either one works beautifully. Apricot brings a tart, honey-like sweetness. Raspberry adds a deeper, more intense berry flavor with a gorgeous ruby color.
Chef Tips
- Grind the walnuts finely but stop before they turn to butter. You want a sandy, flour-like consistency, not an oily paste. Pulse in short bursts and check frequently.
- Add egg white gradually. You may not need it all. The paste should hold together when squeezed but not feel wet or sticky.
- Heat the jam until pourable before filling the channels. Cold jam doesn’t flow into the grooves evenly and sets with air pockets.
- Let the logs cool completely before slicing. Warm macaroon paste crumbles under a knife. Cold, set logs cut into clean, neat rounds.
Variations
- Almond version: Replace the ground walnuts with ground almonds for a classic European macaroon flavor closer to Italian amaretti.
- Chocolate drizzle: Once cooled and sliced, drizzle dark chocolate across the tops for an extra layer of richness.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
With a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly butter a 14-by-17-inch baking sheet.
Sprinkle some flour over it, tip the sheet from side to side to cover the surface evenly, then knock off the excess by inverting the sheet and striking it against the edge of a table.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground walnuts and sugar.
Add half slightly beaten white of 1 egg white, and stir until the mixture forms a paste thick enough to be kneaded with the hand.
Add a little of the 2nd egg white if the mixture seems too dry.
Shape the paste into roll about ¾ inch in diameter and 10-inches long.
With the index finger make a channel about ½-inch at each end of the roll.
Lift the rolls with a large metal spatula, and place them, several inches apart, on the baking sheet.
Bake them in the middle of the oven for 15 or 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.
Meanwhile, heat the jam in a saucepan until it runs easily off the spoon.
Remove the rolls from the oven and fill the channels with the hot jam.
Let them cool. To serve, cut the rolls into slices ¾ inch thick.
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