Did you know that Turkey is one of the world’s largest exporters of hazelnuts, better known as ‘findik’ (fuhn-DUHK’)?

This nutritious nut is native to Turkey’s northern Black Sea region and has been a staple and important cooking ingredient for centuries.

Hazelnuts are one of Turkey’s most popular snack foods. They are also used in many other ways by Turkish cooks. You’ll find them in baklava and candies, as hazelnut butter similar to peanut butter and ground to a fine powder to make baked desserts like cakes and cookies.

A popular cookie made with hazelnuts is a type of sweet, chewy macaroon. It’s made with hazelnut flour, sugar and egg whites.

Although hazelnut macaroons are made with only a few simple ingredients, there are several tips to consider while preparing them to get the best results.

First, make sure you have the right equipment. You’ll need non-stick baking parchment, several large cookie sheets, a pastry bag and a large spatula. You’ll also need several sheets of clean cotton fabric or cheesecloth to use while cooling the cookies.

Also, be very exact with the measurements. The consistency of the batter is very important. If it’s too thick, the centers won’t cook, and if it’s too watery, the cookies will spread out and become hard.

Kids love these chewy cookies and they are great with ice cream. You can bake larger-sized cookies and use them to make ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 1 pound/ 600 grams finely ground hazelnuts, or hazelnut flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1  1/2 cup egg whites
• 3  tbsp. lemon juice
• crushed hazelnuts or pistachios for topping

• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes

• Total Time: 80 minutes
• Yield: About 30 cookies

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan, mix the almond flour, sugar and egg white with a wire whisk until smooth.
2. Turn the heat on low and begin cooking the mixture, stirring constantly. Keep cooking and stirring until you have the consistency of soft cake icing.
3. Pour the batter out of the pan onto a clean work surface. Spoon the lemon juice over the top. Using a spatula, spread out the mixture then gather it up again. Repeat this until all the lemon juice is evenly worked into the batter and it cools down enough to handle.

1. Fill the pastry bag with batter. Squeeze out perfectly round cookies about 3 inches in diameter and 2 inches apart on cookie sheets covered with non-stick baking parchment. If your batter is a little bit thinner, the cookies will spread out more. Put a pinch of ground hazelnuts or pistachios in the center of each cookie.
2. Bake them in a preheated oven at 260° F / 130° C for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes,increase the oven temperature to 300° F / 150° C and continue baking until the cookies are an even, light golden color, about 10-12 minutes.
3. When you remove the cookies from the oven, it’s important to keep them moist so the centers don’t cave in. To do this, wet clean pieces of cheesecloth or other cotton fabric, wring out the excess water and lay them on your work surface.
4. Slide the parchment paper with the hot cookies on top off the baking sheets on top of the wet cloths.  Let the cookies cool down on top of the damp cloths. This will impart enough moisture from below to keep the centers from sticking to the paper and caving in.

1. Once the cookies are cooled down, they should come easily off the parchment paper without sticking. You can stick two cookies together to make a sandwich if you wish, or arrange them on a serving dish as is.
2. Serve these tender, chewy cookies with ice cream, if desired.