Thumb Print Almond Macaroons for Passover or Easter

We’re at it again. Planning and preparing holiday feasts for our families. Leave your MILs traditional dish off the menu and hubbie might quietly stew. Leave dessert off the menu and the kids will stage an all-out demonstration.

These super-sweet and chewy macaroons have a secret surprise inside: cherry preserves that sit in the middle like a prize just waiting to be discovered. The recipe is free of any leavening agents so it’s perfect for Passover; If  you’re baking for Easter, swap the preserves for a few jelly beans set in the middle of the macaroon “nest.”

Dish with us: What’s your favorite holiday dish to prepare?

PoshMom.com food blogger, Amy Currie, a mother of three and long-time chef, is the author of Memoirs of a Home Cook, Every Great Recipe Has a Story and her latest cookbook, Secrets of a Home Cook.

Thumb Print Almond Macaroons
Makes 18 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

6 ounces package slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 large egg white
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ cup cherry preserves or 1 cup jellybeans

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a food processor, finely grind almonds to look like sand.  Add sugar, salt, egg white and almond extract and pulse to combine.

Shape dough into tablespoon-size balls and place onto parchment lined baking sheets. 

Flatten cookies slightly and make an indent in the center with your thumb.

Bake 13 to 15 minutes until lightly golden.  Heat preserves in the microwave 15 seconds to loosen.  Spoon into the center of the baked cookies. Or, place two or three jelly beans into the center of the warm cookies.