Passover without macaroons is like Rosh Hashanah without sweet honey cake or Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Sephardic macaroons use lemon zest for flavoring rather than almond extract. The secret to good macaroons is beating the egg whites just right and not overbaking the cookies.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen

　　3 large egg whites

　　Zest of 1 large lemon

　　1 cup sugar

　　1 1/2 cups blanched finely ground almonds

　　Cooking spray, butter, or margarine for greasing pans

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 275°F. In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the lemon zest. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the whites are very stiff and shiny but not dry. Fold in the ground almonds.

　　

Step 2

Cover 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray or grease them. Using 2 teaspoons, take a heaping teaspoon of batter in one and scoop it off onto the baking sheet using the other teaspoon. Place the cookies 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

　　

Step 3

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cookies are firm and slightly brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing the cookies from the baking sheets to a rack. When cool, store in an air-tight container.

　　Reprinted with permission from Let My People Eat! Passover Seders Made Simple by Zell Schulman. © 1998 Wiley