Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas Mark 3.

Place the egg whites into a scrupulously clean large bowl and whisk until they form stiff peaks.

Fold in the sugar, ground almonds, salt, vanilla and almond essence to make a firm paste, taking care not to overwork the mixture.

Very lightly grease the tray with a little butter. Using half the paste, scoop a rounded teaspoon for each biscuit and repeat until you have 12 biscuits. Lightly roll each into a ball and place onto the tray spacing 2cm apart.

Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes until well risen and evenly golden brown. Allow to cool and firm up on the tray for a few minutes before carefully lifting onto a wire rack using a round ended spatula or turner.

Wipe away any residue from the tray and repeat stages 3 and 4 with the remaining paste.

Once all the biscuits are baked and cooled, dust the biscuits with icing sugar or half dip into melted dark chocolate and allow to set. Store the biscuits in an airtight container

Cook's Notes

Good almond extract can be found in most supermarkets or online. For a flavour twist add some fresh lemon zest to the dough.