Almond flour questions

[blue room]

Hello-- I'd like to try almond macarons, recipe here:
http://www.alacuisine.org/alacuisine/...

my questions are: King Arthur sells only *toasted* almond flour--is this superior to regular almond flour?

Should I buy almonds and make my own with food processor?

Amazon and Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur sell almond flour--any recommends? Mail order source is necessary.

[annimal]

I would stay away from the TJ version for macarons. I tried it and I wasn't too thrilled. I didn't like the skins being in it, as I found they gave the macarons a texture that wasn't very good. In fact,the two batches I tried with it didn't work at all. (could have had something to do with my egg whites though.) If you have a food processor, blender, even a coffee grinder, I'd use it to make your own from raw, blanched almonds, as it will enable you to combine the conf. sugar and the almonds much better than without mechanical help. Make sure you mix a decent amount (or all) of the powdered sugar in as you process the almonds, otherwise you'll get almond paste.

I'm not so sure about using flour from toasted almonds, it is probably ok, as I've read some people on egullet using it. I'd be curious how it turns out, as the blanched toasted almonds at TJs are way cheaper than what I've found for raw blanched almonds. Let us know!

PS> I just looked at the website... Her macarons look great, but as you continue on the macaron path you'll probably find that you'll want to start weighing your ingredients vs. using trad. american measuring utensils. That said, I might try her recipe out for myself!

[pitu]

I've heard good things about the Trader Joe version, but I already had Bob's Red Mill which is an excellent and reliable brand. I never saw King Arthur's version in my store -- their flour sure is great.
I'm thinking you won't go wrong with any of those three.

[cheryl_h]

I don't know where you're located but I found almond flour at Trader Joe's at a great price, around $3.60 a pound. I haven't used it yet but it looks like the real deal. The almonds are unblanched but there's no information I can see on whether the almonds are toasted or not.

[paulj]

I like using this TJ ground almonds in baking, as in a multigrain pumpkin bread. However, as other have said, I wouldn't use it where color, and possbily texture, is important. I suspect it would work well as a substitute for ground walnuts in a chocolate torte.
paulj

[cheryl_h]

Rats. I was so hopeful I found a great bargain. I think I'll try a small batch with the TJ stuff and see how it comes out, just so I know.