1/2 lb. almond paste

Whites 3 eggs

3/8 lb. powdered sugar

Work together almond paste and sugar on a smooth board or marble slab. Then add whites of eggs gradually, and work until mixture is perfectly smooth. Confectioners at first use the hand, afterwards a palette knife, which is not only of use for mixing but for keeping board clean. Shape, using a pastry bag and tube, on a tin sheet covered with buttered paper, one-half inch apart; or drop mixture from tip of spoon in small piles. Macaroon mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, but in baking spreads. Bake fifteen to twenty minutes in a slow oven. If liked soft, they should be slightly baked. After removing from oven, invert paper, and wet with a cloth wrung out of cold water, when macaroons will easily slip off.

Almond Macaroons

Sprinkle Macaroons, before baking, with almonds blanched and shredded, or chopped.

Crescents

1/2. lb. almond paste

2 ozs. confectioners' sugar

White 1 small egg

Almonds, blanched and finely chopped

Mix same as Macaroons. Shape mixture, which is quite soft, in a long roll. Cut pieces from roll three-fourths inch long. Roll each separately in chopped nuts, at the same time shaping to form a crescent. Bake twenty minutes on a buttered tin sheet in a slow oven. Cool, and frost with Confectioners' Frosting, made thin enough to apply with a brush, and flavored with lemon juice until quite acid. Other nuts may be used in place of almonds.