GLUTEN-FREE ALMOND ROUGHS
A friend whose daughter doesn’t eat gluten dropped over recently with a plate of these Almond Roughs to brighten up our morning coffee.
I gathered they’d been made many times before, whipped up from just a few ingredients generally on hand.
They were still warm from the oven. Super crunchy. Quick and easy to make. And just the trick.
Jan
ALMOND ROUGHS
Makes around 24
2 egg whites (around 60gm)
150 gm pure icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
¼ teaspoon almond essence, optional
1 large orange, zested
250 gm flaked almonds, plus extra if required
Preheat oven to 170C. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper and brush the paper with vegetable oil to coat so that the Roughs don’t stick.
Whisk egg whites and icing icing sugar together in a bowl until smooth.
Add vanilla, zest and almond essence, if using, and finish with the flaked almonds, stirring vigorously.
Dollop mounds of the mixture onto the baking paper, spaced well apart. Flatten the mounds with a spatula or fork without creating gaps between the almonds and finishing with thin biscuits around 8cm in diameter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden, turning or swapping trays as necessary.
If the Roughs are still sticky underneath, lift them with a palette knife and turn them over. Return them to the oven for an additional 5 minutes or so until crisp and dry.
TIPS:
If you’d like to make them a bit fancier gently melt some small buttons of dark couverture chocolate (80gm) in a bowl over a pot of just-simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate is liquid, smooth and glossy. Quickly dip the cooled Almond Roughs into the chocolate and stand I a wire cooling rack until the chocolate sets.
Store in an airtight container between sheets of baking paper.