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Dessert

Macaeoon Cookies

Almond-based cookies made with sugar, egg whites, and baked until set.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,679 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓

Macaeoon Cookies

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the almonds

  1. Blanch the almonds and cut them into thirds lengthwise.

  2. In a skillet, heat a handful of sugar until slightly browned.

  3. Add the almonds and stir for a minute.

  4. Remove from heat and let cool on a platter.

Make the batter

  1. Beat the egg whites until very stiff.

  2. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites.

  3. Fold in the cooled almonds.

Bake

  1. Drop spoonfuls onto greased or waxed paper.

  2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) until set.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Almond + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,679 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  2. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Almond + eggtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Almonds
Provide the main body and nutty flavor, and their texture gives the cookies their chew.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, when browned, a caramel aroma; it also helps stabilize the whipped whites.
Egg whites
Whipped into foam, they give the cookies structure and lift as they set in the oven.

The step that matters

Beating the egg whites until very stiff. Egg whites must form a firm, stable foam before sugar and almonds are folded in. Under-beaten whites collapse, leaving flat, dense cookies, while the gradual sugar addition helps keep the foam stable.

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):

  1. Pecansfits about as well
  2. Almondthe original
  3. Chestnutfits about as well
  4. Milletfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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