What do you make for dessert for folks who are gluten and lactose intolerant? Macaroons, of course.

I usually turn to coconut macaroons, but I saw a photo of almond macaroons on Pinterest and figured I'd switch it up a bit. I started with a wisp of a recipe but by my second batch these have become my own creation.

They are truly sublime cookies and I think they'll be in the dessert rotation for years to come. My husband even proclaimed that they were better than my salted peanut butter ones. Those are big words!

Chewy Almond Macaroons

(gluten and dairy free)

makes approximately 12 cookies

Ingredients

8 ounces of almond paste (not marizpan)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (sub vanilla extract if needed)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Once the oven is at temperature, place almonds on sheet pan and toast for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside. In a medium bowl, add almond paste and sugar and mix thoroughly (I use my hands). Add the lightly beaten egg white, vanilla paste and sea salt until combined, then mix in the toasted slivered almonds. Roll the cookies into uniform balls (approximately 12 of them) and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Gently press a small crater in the top of each cookie to create the unique shape in the picture above.

Then in a sifter, add the powdered sugar and coat each cookie top. Bake for 8-10 minutes rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through. Cookies should be just barely set when you remove them from the oven. Let cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.