Amaretti Biscuits

Amaretti Biscuits, Biscotti Amaretti, are Italian biscuits made with almond and egg whites. Very simple. They are made almost everywhere in Italy and that’s why you can find several variations: round or oval shape, soft or crunchy texture, made with almonds flour or with almonds paste. In any case, the fundamental ones remain: almonds and egg whites.

In Sardinia they are traditionally made using a small amount of bitter almonds – absolutely safe, of course.

We made our Amaretti biscuits with minced almonds.

About 20 Amaretti, Preparation 20 mins + 2 hrs resting, Cooking 20-25 mins

250 g whole, peeled almonds or almond flour
200 g caster sugar
3 egg whites
grated rind of 1 lemon – optional
Icing sugar, a sprinkling

Method

Tip: using almond flour is recommended if you want to feel more confident in getting a homogeneous texture. However, using almonds is a different matter. It’s your call.

After toasting the almonds lightly in the oven or in a saucepan (without any fat, so no oil nor butter), you have to crush or blend them by adding the sugar little by little until you get a thick paste and add the grated lemon rind – optional but we added it, works just lovely. Same fashion if you chose to use almond flour instead.

In a bowl, whip the egg whites – they must be firmly whipped.
Now incorporate the egg whites into the almond and sugar mixture, stirring gently from the bottom up.

Fill a piping bag with the mix or simply use a spoon, form round shape on the baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with icing sugar and leave to rest for a couple of hours before baking.

After this time, bake them 170C / 325F / Gas 3 in static oven for about 20-25 minutes until they start to brown and wrinkle a little. Allow to cool to room temperature, then serve.