Almond Petits Fours Recipe

2 egg whites
100 g/4 oz/1 cup ground almonds
50 g/2 oz caster (superfine) sugar

1.5 ml almond essence (extract)

Rice paper
Glace (candied) cherries, angelica leaves and whole blanched almonds, to decorate

Method:

Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold in the almonds, sugar and almond essence. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large star tube (tip) and pipe small rosettes and 's' shapes on to rice paper on baking (cookie) sheets. Decorate some with halved glace cherries, some with angelica leaves and some with blanched almonds. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes until golden brown. Leave until cold, then cut the rice paper round each petit four. Store in an airtight tin.