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Dessert

Macaroons and Crescents From Almond Paste

Almond macaroons and crescents made from almond paste, egg whites, confectioner's sugar, and candied cherries.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 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 ↓

Macaroons and Crescents From Almond Paste

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the macaroon mixture

  1. Beat almond paste and 1 egg white until smooth.

  2. Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar.

  3. Add 2 unbeaten egg whites one at a time, beating until light.

Shape the cookies

  1. Shape into small rounds on paper‑lined baking sheets.

  2. For crescents, mix 2 ounces of paste with half of the macaroon mixture.

  3. Roll tablespoonfuls into crescents on a board dusted with powdered sugar.

  4. Roll crescents in chopped almonds.

Bake and decorate

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 10 minutes until light brown.

  2. Decorate with candied cherries.

  3. Brush with water and dredge with sugar before baking.

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. Egg + sugartop 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

Almond paste
Provides the main almond flavor and a chewy, moist center.
Egg whites
Beaten whites trap air for lightness and set the cookies as they bake.
Confectioner's sugar
Sweetens the mixture and gives it a fine, smooth texture.

The step that matters

Adding the egg whites. Adding the unbeaten egg whites one at a time and beating until light traps air in the mixture. That air gives the macaroons lift, and adding them gradually keeps the batter from losing its volume.

Swap the almond

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar. 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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