Amaretti Italian Cookies Food

AMARETTI - ITALIAN CHEWY ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• If you're using whole peeled almonds, toast them in the oven until lightly brown. This will give a darker color and more bright flavor to amaretti.
• Once almonds reach desired color, cool them completely.
• Pulse almonds and bitter apricot kernels (if you opt to use those as in traditional Italian recipe) with sugar in a food processor as finely as you can.
• NOTE: if you are using almond flour, use confectioners sugar instead of regular sugar. This way you don't need to use a food processor. Simply mix everything in the bowl.
• Add almond extract.
• Beat egg white with a pinch of salt until completely white and fluffy.
• Start to fold egg white into sugar and almond mix. Add a couple of table spoons at a time. You should reach silky and stiff consistency of the cookie dough. NOTE: You may not need to use all egg whites, just enough to get the dough together.
• Sprinkle work surface with some powdered/confectioners sugar.
• Pinch off some dough and roll it into ⅔ of an inch rope.Using a dough scraper cut the rope into ⅔ of an inch pieces.
• Roll each "pillow" giving it a ball shape (size of a walnut) and roll it in generous amount of confectioners sugar.
• Place each cookie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Decorate with an almond nut (optional).
• Bake in preheated to 350F oven for 12-15 minutes, just until inside the crinkles amaretti become lightly brown.

ITALIAN AMARETTI COOKIES

Steps:

• 1.Position the oven rack so that it is at the bottom of the oven.
• 2.Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
• 3.Check that your ground almonds are as fine as possible. You can always pass them through a blender to make sure.
• 4.In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, salt and sugar, mixing well with a fork.
• 5.Next mix in the eggs (all at once - no need to beat in advance), and almond essence.
• 6.Line two cookie sheet with baking paper, and using a tablespoon, make round balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet (leaving 2cm of space between each).Press either an almond or pistachio onto thetop of ech cookie.
• 7.Cook for 10 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven, then move the rack to the middle of the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.Leave to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes.
• 8.Using a small sieve, sprinkle each cookie with a light dust of powder (icing) sugar.

AMARETTI COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Break the almond paste into small pieces and place in bowl of electric mixer along with the sugar.
• Mix on low speed until very fine.
• Add the egg whites in three additions, mix well after each addition.
• Continue mixing the dough until very smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place a tablespoon of dough on the cookie sheet (space them 1 inch apart).
• Lightly press the top of each cookie to smooth out the surface.
• Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each cookie.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies have risen, are a deep golden color and have tiny cracks.
• Remove from the oven.
• When cool gently peel cookies from parchment.
• Note: If they stick to the parchment, turn the paper over, take a damp paper towel and gently wipe the bottom of the parchment paper to loosen the cookie.