Serves a Crowd

Cinnamon Balls

by:
June 13, 2011
4.7
3 Ratings
  • Makes 24
Author Notes

A favourite at Elevenses and Tea during Passover in Britain, this is our family's recipe. We sometimes substitute 2 ounces (50 g) of unsweetened cocoa for same quantity of ground almonds and omit the lemon rind. Though we do not, I see no reason why the dough couldn't be rolled-out using confectioners (icing) sugar to prevent sticking before being cut into shapes and baked. - olinsloan

Update 4 Dec 2011: For those who prefer a sweeter biscuit, roll-out the dough into Cinnamon Sticks about 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. Ice with a boiled icing (aka Italian Meringue) after baking (use food52 recipe search to find my recipe). - olinsloan —olinsloan

Test Kitchen Notes

These addictive delights make a splendid teatime snack. Their small size makes them perfect to pop in your mouth; just try not to eat too many! They are soft and light with a slight crunch, and the flavors of cinnamon, lemon, and almond marry so well together. The powdered sugar coating adds a bit of welcome decadence to these treats. A note on the size: when I rolled them to 1/2 inch before baking, I ended up with 3 dozen balls. Clearly, I take no issue with that -- these are delicious. I can't wait to try the chocolate version! - forester_lady —duclosbe1

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 egg whites
  • rind of 1 lemon, grated
  • 4 ounces (100 g) superfine (caster) sugar
  • 8 ounces (200 g) ground almonds
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • Confectioners (icing) sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 325F (170C).
  2. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in the remaining ingredients except the confectioners (icing) sugar.
  3. Form into 24 balls about 0.5" in diameter with wet hands and place on parchment lined baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm, roll in confectioners (icing) sugar whilst still warm and again when cold.
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5 Reviews

olinsloan
olinsloan June 26, 2011
Try making the version with cocoa as Cinnamon Sticks by rolling the dough into lengths about 1 1/2" long and about 1/4" thick. As with Cinnamon Balls, bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm, roll in confectioners (icing) sugar whilst still warm and again when cold.
 
Sunflower70
Sunflower70 June 26, 2011
I will! Thanks. I am so excited to be baking (for me) again.
 
Sunflower70
Sunflower70 June 26, 2011
These are wonderful! Just made them with my son. We made our own caster sugar and ground almonds. My 3 year old who doesn't like sweets LOVES these! We made them a little bigger than 1/2 inch and reduced the baking time by 5 minutes after the first batch came out a little over done. Making the cookies just under an inch and cooking a bit less made a wonderful cookie! Can't wait to try the option with cocoa!

This was my first real attempt in scratch baking gluten free. Thanks for a simple recipe that came out wonderfully!
 
olinsloan
olinsloan June 14, 2011
Be warned, they're addictive....
 
Couldn't B.
Couldn't B. June 14, 2011
These look delicious! I can't wait to try them