Almond Cookies - Pasticcini alle Mandorle

Here is one of my favorite pasticcini (fine Italian small pastries). These almond cookies are a classic that you find in most pasticcerie in Italy. Usually decorated with a whole almond, like I did, or a candied cherry. Either way, deliciously sweet!
These cookies are very easy to make and, I have to say, extremely easy to eat! Intensely nutty, perfectly chewy on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside. Try them and they may become your favorite pasticcini too!
And here is a picture of me enjoying an amazing day at the beach :-)

Ingredients: to make about 30 cookies

3 cups (300 gr) of almond meal/flour
1.5 cups (270 gr) of sugar
1/4 of a teaspoon of almond extract
4 egg whites
about 30 whole almonds to decorate

Preparation time: total 3.5 hours (30 minutes to prepare, 3 hours inactive)

Directions:
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the almond flour.

Step 2: Mixing with a spoon, add the almond extract and the egg whites, one at the time.

Step 3: Place the mixture into a piping bag and make round shapes on a silicone mat if you have it, or parchment paper over a baking sheet. Place one almond in the center of each cookie.

Step 4: Let the cookies sit for about 3 hours, or more (up to 12) outside the refrigerator. I placed mine into the turned-off oven.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). If you placed the cookies in the oven to rest, like I did, take them out of the oven before preheating it! When the oven is nice and hot, bake the cookies for about 7-8 minutes. Check to make sure they don't burn.