Seeded Cardamom Macaroons
Seeded Cardamom Macaroons
I always have a stash of egg whites in the freezer, leftovers from making yolk enriched recipes like ice cream. I’m slack about labelling and inconsistent about the egg sizes I buy so I rely on an educated guess to know just how many egg whites I have in each container.
Making meringue is futile in Brisbane’s tropical climate as the humidity reduces it to a sticky mess in no time flat and the thought of eating egg white omelette doesn’t appeal to me at all, so instead I make macaroons, not elegant French macarons but rustic Italian style nutty bites
I’ve shared many recipes for macaroons in the lifetime of this blog, but yesterday I took a gamble and made the mix by feel. After weighing pecans, almonds and hazelnuts and processing them to a meal I added whole sunflower seeds and pepitas to the mix then spiced it up with freshly ground cardamom seed.
The trick to making good macaroons is to only add enough egg white to lightly bind the nuts and sugar together. The mix should be neither sticky nor crumbly. My mix was a tad dry after I’d added all the egg white I’d defrosted so I added a generous slosh of Grand Marnier.
This was an outstanding batch of macaroons, a recipe worthy of sharing, but please take it as an encouragement to try creating your own macaroon recipe.
I consider these sweeties a delicious healthy treat. They’re especially good with a strong espresso
Seeded Cardamom Macaroons
120g almonds
90g hazelnuts
90g pecans
60g sunflower seeds
60g pumpkin seeds
180g castor sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons of cardamon seed, ground
2-3 egg whites
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
extra pecans to decorate
Preheat the oven the oven to 170C and line 3 ovenproof trays with baking paper.
Weigh the nuts, sugar and salt, tip into the jug of your food processor and process to a fine meal.
Tip into a bowl the stir through the seeds and spice.
Add the egg white a little at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition. Stop adding egg white as soon as the nuts form into a crumbly mass.
Add the Grand Marnier and thoroughly mix through.
Roll dessertspoons full of the mix into balls then press 1/4 pecan into the top of each flattening the ball a little in the process.
Place on the paper lined trays (they will not spread) and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack and when cold, store in an airtight container.
Click the links below to see other macaroon recipes
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24 comments on “Seeded Cardamom Macaroons”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Hi Sandra, just wanted to say I’ve made these a couple of times now, with slight changes to the nuts, and they’re fabulous! Much more interesting than plain almond, and I love the pepitas, they add such an interesting flavour…I’m topping the latest batch with tamari roasted almonds for an extra hint of salt 🙂
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Nice to hear that you enjoy my recipe Beck. I like the sound of your savoury topping
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Love the addition of the the seeds Mrs R. I went through a bit of a macaroon phase but haven’t made any in a while but you have inspired me.
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Glad you’re inspired. Macaroons are a healthy snack, promise.
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Interesting recipe for macaroons, love the almonds and hazelnuts and pecans and the combination of flavours 🙂
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Thanks Chef K, it’s a great combo
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Heavens to Murgatroyd! What are you doing to me, Sandra? These will be made this weekend, even tho’ I do not have one eggwhite in the freezer! It is said one should use a glass of wine for the dish and one for the cook – hope that applies for Grand Marnier as well! I also keep my sugar usage down, but there is so little spread over a whole delicious plate . . . . doesn’t count in my book!!! Can’t wait to taste . . . .
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These have been a great hit, totally delicious. Of course the cook needs to taste, even double check some ingredients. Enjoy…
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Every single macaroon recipe I have is for coconut macaroons. I love this recipe/idea. With all of those nuts and seeds, though (and maybe it’s just the leaves changing here), I want to add warm spices to this and even make them a little savory. Mostly, though, I just want to eat them right now.
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The added salt and cardamon will fit the bill
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I’m thinking something like chipotle or cumin. Something sort of smokey and savory like that. Like adding bay leaf to lemon cake.
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Ooo let me know how it goes…
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Great recipe Sandra. I never thought to freeze egg whites.
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Egg whites will keep in tip top shape in the freezer for up to 6 months Conor, no need for waste
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I used to bake macaroons all the time but haven’t since I stopped eating sugar. These sound and look great. You are so right about the texture of the dough: just a bit of egg white too much or too little and they will be completely different.
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I’m just discovering how flexible macaroons can be, playing on the texture for intended differences. This combo is very satisfying
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Lovely flavorful macaroons !
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Thanks..
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An outstanding version of macaroons, much nicer than the dainty versions popular today, and yes, perfect with coffee.
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I don’t do dainty, rustic is much more my style.
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What a great idea tu use a variety of nuts and seeds! I love all kinds of egg white based goodies, but have never made my own macaroons!
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You must try Darya, they are so simple to make
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Oh, good! More recipes to use up those egg whites. We still have a huge stash of them in the freezer. I love amaretti and this nutty variation (along with your Nut ‘n’ Spice macaroons) are perfect.
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Thanks Debi, variations on a theme..
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