Adapted from November 30, 1977 New York Times recipe, by Mimi Sheraton
Makes about 72 (six dozen) cookies
Active time: About 1 hour, with 20 minute bake time
Notes: Avoid making this recipe when it is raining; egg whites will be dense and cookies will be sodden in texture. Also, for best flavor, use top quality ground cinnamon, such as the extra fancy Vietnamese available at Penzey’s Spices.
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ to 2 cups (as needed) unblanched almonds, finely ground
1 teaspoon brandy (or vanilla extract)
Extra fine granulated sugar for pastry board
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Butter one or two large cookie sheets.
Using a standing mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites in a bowl, and as they begin to foam and stiffen, gradually beat in the sugar. Continue to beat until whites form stiff peaks that retain the mark of a knife blade. Set aside half a cup of the beaten egg whites.
Sprinkle remaining whites with cinnamon, one and a half cups of almonds, and brandy or vanilla extract.
Stir together gently but thoroughly, by hand or on low speed. Mixture should be thick and fairly solid. Add more almonds if the dough is too sticky to be rolled.
Sprinkle pastry board (or smooth counter top) with extra fine sugar and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a small sized cookie cutter.
Arrange the cookies on the buttered cookie sheets and brush the top of each cookie with a little of the reserved egg whites. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until golden. Allow cookies to cool and carefully transfer them with a spatula to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container or tin, using wax paper to layer cookies.
Ruth's Christmas Cookies 