Amaretti Cookie Recipe

Amaretti Cookies Recipe

Amaretti Cookie Recipe

My amaretti cookie recipe is so easy to follow you will ask yourself why you haven’t tried baking your own almond cookies before. These delicious little Italian almond amaretti cookies are made from a few simple ingredients; egg whites, sugar and ground almonds or almond flour. Producing a biscuit that is both crunchy and gooey, these moreish little treats go perfectly with a cup of coffee or as a side to lots of delicious desserts such as ice cream or pannacotta.

Adapting the Amaretti Cookie Recipe

The best thing about this recipe for amaretti cookies is that you can easily adapt the taste by adding different flavourings. I have tried rose water and apricot with a hint of cardamom spice. Or simply adding citrus zest such as lemon or orange. You can add flavour with liqueurs, such as the traditional amaretti or coffee liquor or coffee essence. And they even stand up to the addition of spices like cardamom and cinnamon. These adaptations make them so versatile and a perfect pairing to many different desserts.

My favourite adaptation is a little bit of cardamom spice, rose water and a piece of dried apricot for a middle eastern twist. I find that these flavours match perfectly with the quite prominent almond background.

Classic almond amaretti recipe

Below I give the recipe for the classic almond amaretti recipe using amaretto liquor and high-quality, fair-trade vanilla extract. You will also find some tips on how to modify the recipe with different flavours or substitutions for an almost endless realm of possibilities.

Basic Amaretti Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

2 large egg whites (60 grams)
190 g ground almond
150 g caster sugar
1 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
¼ tsp high-quality fair trade vanilla extract
3 tbsp icing sugar – for rolling the cookies before they go in the oven
3 tbsp caster sugar – for rolling the cookies before they go in the oven

Method

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan.
Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Put the egg whites into a large bowl and beat on a medium speed until they form a firm peak.
Mix the ground almonds, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Gently fold in the beaten egg white and then add in the Amaretto liquor and keep stirring until you have a smooth paste.
Put the icing sugar and caster sugar onto two separate plates.
Separate the mixture into 16 small balls, each ball should measure around 2-3cm in diameter. Roll each ball first in the caster sugar and then in the icing sugar before placing them on the baking tray. Allow at least 3cm between each ball as they will spread a little in the oven.
Place in the oven and cook for 15-17 minutes until they look a bit cracked and lightly golden.
Take them out of the oven, and leave them to cool completely on the tray.

A note on almond flour vs ground almonds.

What is the difference between ground almonds and almond flour?

Ground almonds are basically almonds that have been ground whole, with the skin on until they are a uniform meal-type texture.

Almond flour is blanched almonds that are ground into a finer texture than almond meal.

I have found that ‘ground almonds’ that you find in most (UK) supermarkets are perfect for this recipe as they are actually mislabelled and are in fact ‘almond flour’.

I wouldn’t recommend grinding your own almonds for this recipe as the results may be a little dense.

For more in-depth information on the difference between ground almonds and almond flour, you can visit the loopy whisk’s article.

Variations on my Amaretti Cookie Recipe

Apricot, cardamom & Rose

Additional ingredients:

Cardamom, ground 0.5 tsp

Rose water 0.5 tsp (or more to taste)

Dried apricots cut into small cubes (roughly 6 whole)

Add half a teaspoon of cardamom and half a teaspoon of rose water to the mixture along with the almonds an caster sugar.

Chop the apricots into cubes about 1cm squared.

Once you have rolled the cookies and placed them on the baking sheets press a square of dried apricot in the middle of the cookie and bake as usual.

Coffee & Chocolate (Hershey’s kisses)

Additional ingredients:

Coffee liquor 1 tbsp

Chocolate drops or Hershey’s kisses or chocolate (milk or dark) cubes cut into small cubes (roughly 16 pieces)

Add a tablespoon of coffee liqueur to the mixture along with the almonds and caster sugar.

Chop the chocolate into small cubes about 1cm squared.

Once you have rolled the cookies and placed them on the baking sheets press a Hershey’s kiss or a square of chocolate in the middle of the cookie and bake as usual.

Limoncello

Additional ingredients:

Limoncello 1 tbsp

Lemon zest 1 tsp

Add a tablespoon of limoncello and a teaspoon of lemon zest to the mixture along with the almonds and caster sugar.

Once you have rolled the cookies in sugar and placed them on the baking sheets bake as usual.

I hope that you have fun playing with the flavours in this recipe as much as I did! And don’t forget to try pairing these beautiful amaretti cookies with your favourite dessert.

Love From Luisa x