When I was a child, I remember looking forward to my parents returning home from a wedding with tissues filled with ‘Pastini tal-Lewz’ (Almond Macaroons) that they ‘stole’ from the cake table, just so they could share with their kids at home!
That is probably the fondest memory I have of eating these sugary little pieces of heaven. Although I’m not really a kid anymore, I still crowd around the cake table every time I attend a wedding, hoping to get my hands on one of these delectable sweets before they’re gone. And since I enjoy them so much, I decided to make a guilt-free version that doesn’t send my sugar levels crashing.
These heavenly Pastini are not very low in calories yet are a much healthier version of the sugar-laden almond macaroons and get most of their sweetness from dried fruits.
The sun-dried white mulberries are not a must and can be replaced by more dates/sultanas/other dried fruit, yet the taste of mulberries blends incredibly well in the recipe – apart from being an amazing source of dietary fiber!
Traditional Maltese Pastini tal-Lewz
Equipment
- Electric Hand Mixer
- Food Processor
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Whites
- 75 g Sweetener
- 120 g Ground Almonds
- 35 g White Mulberries
- 35 g Dates
- 10 g Linseeds
- 1 tbsp Amaretto Liquor
- 8 Almond halves for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, using an electric hand mixer.
- In a food processor, finely chop the mulberries, dates, linseeds and sweetener until they resemble the consistency of brown sugar. Mix with ground almonds.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and mix gently using a metal spoon, in a figure of 8 manner, until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Add amaretto for the mixture to form into a paste.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Do not overcook as the Pastini will keep cooking and hardening as they cool.
If you use My Fitness Pal to log your food, you can find this recipe listed on the database as ‘The Healthy Malteser Pastini tal-Lewz’