Amaretti cookies are an Italian macaroon-style dessert made with ground almonds or an almond paste. I only discovered them a few years ago, and like many other Italian treats, they left me wishing I had a Nonna to teach me more. Unfortunately, I’m self-taught, which means lots of trial and error. After a great deal of tweaking, I settled on this recipe, which yields crispy yet chewy amaretti with just a hint of lemon.
Preparation: 20 minutes
Inactive: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Total: Approximately 1 hour
Amaretti Cookies – Ingredients
- Almond flour – 210g
- All-purpose flour – 20g
- Granulated sugar – 200g
- Egg whites – from 2 eggs (1/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Zest from 1/2 lemon
- Almond extract – 1 tsp
- Powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper and (if possible) stack it on top of another cookie sheet. This will help to prevent the bottoms from burning.
- Sift the flours into a large bowl then stir in the granulated sugar until evenly distributed.
- Whip the egg whites, zest, and salt to soft peaks using a hand or stand mixer. Once the peaks have formed, add the almond extract and whip just until combined.
- Preheat the oven to 300F.
- Add the whites to the dry ingredients and mix by hand until a sticky dough forms. Do not overwork.
- Roll the dough into golf-ball sized portions then roll them in icing sugar. Place them on your prepared pan 1 inch apart, then squish them down slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Allow the uncooked amaretti cookies to rest for 20 minutes.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes (just until the tops are very slightly golden).
- Allow the finished cookies to cool on the sheet for several minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy with espresso or hot tea!
If you don’t have the ingredients for this one on hand, don’t fret! We have a whole post on pantry essentials to keep you safe and minimize trips to the store. If you follow that, you’re sure to have lots of options for homemade sweet treats.
