Will Wright’s Macaroons

My aunt Terry makes my most favorite of all cookies – macaroons. She always makes a batch for my birthday and sends them up to me…and then I devour them and I don’t share any because it’s MY BIRTHDAY DAMMIT. I digress. It turns out the recipe she uses is from a place my mom and aunt and the rest of their siblings used to go to all the time growing up.

From my mom:

Having grown up in Southern California, trips to Will Wright’s Ice Cream Parlor are some of my fondest memories. They were modeled after old-time ice cream parlors complete with marble-topped tables and wire backed, red and white striped leather seats. While their ice cream was incredible and left your tongue slick for an hour, the thing I remember most were their macaroon cookies that always accompanied an order. They were wrapped in wax paper with the company slogan: “It’s Heavenly.” And it was! They were soft in the center with a slight almond taste. When they closed their doors for good, I was heartbroken. Then my sister Terry found a recipe for those macaroon cookies and she’s been making them for the family every Christmas. Heather and I have been known to eat an entire batch in one sitting, I’m not proud, but oh my, they are truly divine!!

It sounds like my mom is unaware of the birthday cookies. Uh oh.

Will Wright’s Macaroons

You need:

1 7oz tube almond paste
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs whites, lightly beaten
1 tbsp flour

I consulted with my aunt before I made these, and she suggested using a food processor for all the mixing. You do NOT need to use a food processor – you can mix everything by hand. But my aunt’s cookies taste amazing so I followed her advice. The first thing you have to do is cut your almond paste into small chunks (to make it easier to mix).

Add the chopped paste and sugar to the food processor.

Blend the sugar and paste together until the chunks are small – the size of a pebble.

She is really proving to be an unreliable kitchen assistant.

Separate your yolks and egg whites. I’m not going to lie, I considered buying a carton of egg whites but I decided to be a big girl and not cheat. This was super stressful, especially with Mike standing there saying, “Don’t get any shell in it!!”

I might have celebrated the separation of yolk and white. It’s the little things.

Lightly beat your egg whites.

Add the egg whites, then blend until the mixture is smooth and not runny.

Mix in the flour.

Drop batter by the teaspoon onto a greased, floured, and foil-lined cookie sheet. Or parchment paper. If only I’d had parchment paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.

Think about decorating for the holidays while your cookies bake.

Yummy!

Time to taste…

Delicious!

Having tasted the cookies myself, I will say that they taste much better – a bit chewy on the edges – if you let them sit for an hour or two before eating. You know…if you have the willpower.