Amaretti

Name: Amaretti
Yield: makes about 35 cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup (125 g) almonds, toasted; 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup (70 g) powdered sugar; 2 large egg whites, at room temperature; Pinch of salt; 6 tablespoons (75 g) granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon almond extract

December 9, 2011

These barely sweet crisp little cookies are the definitive Italian nibble. Not only do I serve them as perfect bites alongside a ristretto (a “tight” espresso), but I also crumble them up and use the bitter almond-scented crumbs in desserts. They make a perfect topping for Lemon Semifreddo (page 65) and give a decidedly Italian touch to Peach-Amaretti Crisp (page 102). True amaretti are made with sweet apricot kernels rather than almonds, but since apricot kernels can be difficult to find and not everyone’s keen on eating them (they contain cyanide), I call for almonds in this recipe.

Recipe notes

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