Instructions:

Ingredients
Cookie:

.25 C (64 g) almond flour
.25 C (98 g) confectioners' sugar
2 lg egg whites
.25 C (177 ml) water
1/2 C (144 g) sugar
1 T tomato paste

Filling:

2 T (30 g) goat cheese
2 T (30 g) cream cheese
2 T (5 g) fresh basil, finely chopped
Few drops lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground white pepper
2 med ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely diced---1 cup
Individual basil leaves (one per macaroon)

Directions

Preheat oven to 340F (170C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a damp kitchen towel on counter. Place almond flour and confectioners' sugar and tomato paste in medium bowl; stir to combine. Place 1 of the egg whites in another medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until firm shiny peaks form. Spoon into almond mixture, folding in gently to combine. Place remaining egg white in a medium bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Place water and granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Place over medium low heat, stirring frequently until sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil until mixture reaches a temperature of 245F (120C) on a candy thermometer. Very gradually pour sugar syrup into egg white, constantly beating with an electric mixer until shiny peaks form. Add almond mixture and gently fold in.

Spoon mixture into a large pastry bag with a large round tip and form about 24 small disks about the size of a golf ball, leaving an inch of space in between. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and, leaving macaroons on parchment paper, move paper to damp kitchen towel. Let cool to room temperature. *Note about size---use a template under the parchment. That is to draw 24 circles on an another piece of parchment that will show through the top parchment, to be used as a guide to pipe consistent size disks.

To make filling, place goat cheese, cream cheese, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl, mashing with a fork to combine. Stir in tomatoes. To assemble, spread mixture thinly between 2 macaroons.

Prep time: 40 minutes.Cook time: 15 minutes. Makes 12 servings.