Recipe: Italian Amaretti Two Ways
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Who doesn’t love baking a sweet treat for a special occasion? Vanessa Fletcher shows us how to make these dreamy Italian delicacies:
Every time you bake a tray of Amaretti, it’s an expression of love. Because amaretti, like most biscuits, are a little something extra for a special occasion or special treat.
Amaretti are Italian cookies made with almonds. When made properly they are ever so slightly crunchy on the outside, and still chewy on the inside.
These are my two absolute favourite amaretti recipes. One is natural almond, the other chocolate. I always make them together, so there are two options to choose from – they just don’t feel right on their own. I usually make Amaretti for family birthdays and festive occasions like Easter and Christmas but every now and then, I whip up a small batch just because.
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can make a small batch by dividing everything by three (e.g., just use one cup of almond meal and one egg white, etc.) or make a big batch by keeping measurements as is. If find this quite handy if I only have a cups worth of almond meal in the pantry. You can change up the garnish as well; a whole almond, a glace cherry, a choc chip, some walnuts toasted and finely chopped, or even a dollop of lemon marmalade. Weighing out the portions is important to ensure that each amaretti will be the same chewy texture on the inside. I hope you enjoy my all-time favourite amaretti recipes.
Recipe: Italian Amaretti Two Ways
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a medium sized mixing bowl mix together the almond meal, caster sugar, egg whites and almond essence. Use a metal spoon to do this. At first, it will feel as though the mixture might not come together but it will. Slowly and gently mix the ingredients for about a minute, then use your hands to combine everything properly.
Weigh out 20gram portions and roll into balls, keep your hands a little bit wet with cold water to stop the mix from sticking to your hands or getting dry.
Sift the cup of icing sugar into a small bowl. Coat each of the balls in the icing sugar by rolling them in the bowl gently, then place onto the baking tray.
Press an almond into each ball; it will slightly flatten the ball into more of a cookie shape.
Bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes.
When the amaretti first come out of the oven they are quite soft, allow them to cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before you move them.
For the chocolate amaretti. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl mix together the almond meal, caster sugar, egg whites, amaretto and cocoa powder. Use a metal spoon to do this. At first, it will feel as though the mixture might not come together but it will.Slowly and gently mix the ingredients for about a minute, then use your hands to combine everything properly.
Weigh out 20gram portions and roll into balls, keep your hands a little bit wet with cold water to stop the mix from sticking to your hands or getting dry.
Sift the cup of icing sugar into a small bowl, so that you can coat the balls in the icing sugar then place onto the baking tray. Press a glace cherry into each ball; it will slightly flatten the ball into more of a cookie shape.
Bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes. When the amaretti first come out of the oven they are quite soft, allow them to cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before you move them.
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