Amaretti Cookies
Sardinian Style!

Amaretti cookies... Sardinian style!

The first time I had a go at making Amaretti was in 1987.

It was when I came to Sardinia to learn how to make Italian cookies in a small cake shop in Jerzu.

The Amaretti cookie recipe I will be showing you is a recipe Old Italian recipe that I came across after a few years of opening up my own cake shop.

I was offered an amaretto at friends house in a town nearby, they were delicious, I couldn't resist, I asked for the recipe and I have never changed it.

The name Amaretti stems from the Italian word Amaro which means bitter.

In fact the essential ingredient that distinguishes these Amaretti cookies is the use of bitter almonds.

Bitter almonds are quite easily found here in Sardinia, if I'm honest I am not quite sure if they readily available in the rest of the world. If you can find bitter almonds, all the better as your Amaretti cookies will be more authentic, if not you can always use almond essence.

Before we actually start, I would like to mention two important things about Amaretti cookies;

Types of almonds to use;

Blanched Almonds

In the original Amaretti recipe (and it is the best way to make them!) the best almonds to use are freshly blanched almonds.

If you are not sure of how to blanch almonds, not to worry I have included a step by step guide.

The other option is using already prepared ground almonds. There are two types of ground almonds;

1.Blanched Ground Almonds

2.Ground Almonds with Skins

My first choice out of these; is the blanched ground almonds as your Amaretti cookies will remain moist and white.

If you are left with no choice, yes you can use the 2nd choice but they will be slightly drier and darker in colour.

Egg Whites

This is practically a million dollar question! I have been making Amaretti cookies every week for nearly 20 years.

Every time I have a new batch of almonds the amount of egg whites needed for the Amaretti recipe slightly differs.

Please don't be put off by this; I will do my best to help you succeed in making your perfect Amaretti.

In the ingredients I have given you a rough measure of egg whites to use. When you are ready to mix all the ingredients do not pour in all the egg whites at once.l And leave some egg whites, in case you need to do some corrections. I will explain how to do that when necessary.

This amaretti recipe makes about 13-14 amaretti.

Ready to start?

Great!

Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Baking trays
• Grease proof paper
• Dish for the sugar, to roll raw cookie in.
• Cup of cold water (for wetting palms of your hands)
• Food processor (if you decide to blanch your own almonds)

Ingredients

                                                                                      
• 250g/9oz Sweet almonds
• 25g/1oz Bitter almonds or 2 drops of almond essence
• 200g Granulated sugar
• ½ Small Lemon rinds grated
• 160g to 180g Egg whites (one egg white wieghs about 30g so you will need about 5-6 eggs depending on the size
• Extra Sugar

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 160c (330f)
• Place almonds, sugar and lemon rinds in a mixing bowl
• Add egg whites a little at a time (remember to leave some!)
• Amaretti cookies prefer to be mixed by hand. (so, pull up your sleeves and give them a good mix!)

Once you have bound all the ingredients...

The next question is; do I need to add more egg whites?

Amaretti Mixture

There is really only one way to find out; and that is to do what I still do today and that is to try baking one first.

In all honestly I will try out a tray but them my mixtures are slightly more!

• Dampen the palms of your hands with a little water and press them into sugar

This helps to prevent the mixture sticking to your hands.

• Roll a small quantity of mixture

(roughly the size of a table tennis ball, even smaller if you prefer!)

• Roll the ball in the dish of extra sugar

• Place on the baking tray


• Place in a pre-heated oven 160

What are you looking for?

A perfect amaretto should;

• slightly rise
• be a nice dome shape
• full of crakes on the surface

After about 10 minutes you will be able to see how the amaretto is doing.

1 of 3 things can happen;

Amaretti Cookies After 10 Minutes in the Oven

1. The amaretto doesn't seem to be rising; it is not cracking on the surface,looks like a tight ball. This means the mixture is too hard. All you need to do is add some more egg white. I personally would try another cookie before using up all the mixture.
2. They will start to flatten and spread out. This means the mixture has too much egg white. To correct this all you need to do is add a little more ground almonds and sugar. Use your own judgement here. Just remember; for every 10g of almonds add 8 g of sugar. My advice here is to try out another amaretto before going a head..


3.  They are perfect!

You are ready to put the amaretti in the oven.

N.B. Amaretti do not take well to sitting on a baking tray waiting to be put in the oven. They should be place on the baking tray and placed straight in the oven.

After about 15 minutes the amaretti will start to crack even more, like in the photo below...

Amaretti cookies take about 20-25 minutes. When they have a nice even golden colour then they are ready.

If you were wondering what happened to the amaretti in the photo After 10 Minutes in the Oven, I left them to finish off baking...

This is how they turned out!

I hope you enjoy baking these Sardinian style Amaretti and even more eating them!

With Amaretti the old saying goes; if at first you don't succeed, try and try again! If I hadn't took this piece of advice I wouldn't be still making them today.

Share your successful and non successful experience with this Amaretti cookie recipe...Upload comments ands photo's. 

Don't be shy... I haven't got a photo of my first attempt shame; it would comfort you to know there is always first time for every one! 

Other pages that may interest you are:

Italian Cookies - A collection of traditional Sardinia Cookies

Italian Cookie Recipes - A few of my favorite cookie recipes

Italian Christmas Cookies - Lots of ideas for goodies to bake in the festive season

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