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1
Place the oven rack in the lowest position possible in your oven.
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2
Preheat the oven to 300u00b0F.
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3
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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4
Place the sugar, confectioners' sugar, orange zest and salt in the bowl of a food processor together with the steel knife.
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5
Grind the zest very find with the sugar.
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6
This will usually take 3 20-second whirls of the processor.
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7
Scrape the work bowl with a spatula in between whirls and stir up the sugar mixture.
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8
Scatter the diced almond paste evenly over the sugar mixture and give the processor about two more 10 seconds whirls.
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9
The texture should be like coarse meal.
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10
Again, scrape the work bowl in between whirls.
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11
Add the egg whites and mix with about two 5 second whirls.
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12
Don't forget to scrape the bowl at half-time.
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13
Remove the steel knife and set aside.
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14
Working directly from the food processor bowl, scoop up the dough in rounded 1/2 teaspoonfuls and drop onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
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15
Space the cookies about 2 inches apart, these babies really spread as they bake.
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16
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until lightly browned and crackly on top, about 20-25 minutes.
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17
Remove the cookies together with the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool.
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18
To remove the cooled cookies from the paper, loosen them carefully around the edges with a spatula, using short strokes.
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19
These are not brittle cookies, and you should get the hang of it soon enough.
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20
You can layer the macaroons between sheets of wax paper in an airtight Tupperware, and store them in a cool, dry spot.
