Italian Almond Orange Cookies

Prep/Cooking Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Makes: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• ⅓ Cup Egg Whites, approximately 2 jumbo-sized eggs
• 1¼ Cups Granulated Sugar
• Zest of 1 Orange
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 2½ Cups Almond Meal
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ Cup Icing Sugar

Method

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, orange zest, and honey until the mixture is smooth.
   
   
2. Add almond meal and baking powder to the bowl and mix using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the ingredients are moistened and fully combined.
   
   
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, but it can be refrigerated for up 24 hours.  You can prepare the dough the night before and bake it the next morning.
   
   
4. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 165° C and position 2 racks in the top 2 positions.
   
   
5. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
   
   
6. Place icing sugar in a small bowl.
   
   
7. On a counter, roll the dough with your hands into a fat log and cut it into two equal pieces.
   
   
8. Take each piece and roll it into logs, then cut each log in half, and cut each piece in half again.  This will give you a total of 24 pieces.
   
   
9. Roll each piece into a ball and then roll it in icing sugar.  Place the coated dough balls onto the prepared baking trays, with 12 per tray.
   
   
10. Bake both trays together in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, making sure to rotate the pans halfway through the baking time.  Press down softly on the cookies halfway through cooking if they haven't flattened.
    
    
11. The cookies are done when they start to crackle, flatten out, and have a slightly browned bottom.  The centres will still be soft, so avoid relying on the feel of the cookie and refrain from lifting them off the baking trays just yet.
    
    
12. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays.  As they cool, they will firm up and develop a crisp exterior with a chewy centre.