Amaretti

If you’re an Italophile like me you don’t need a lot of prompting to try these delicious chewy cookies. But when a friend just KEPT ON sharing pics of Italian sweets online and then my hairdresser offered me a freshly baked amaretti, who was I to resist? They are super quick and easy to whip up, perfect with coffee, and will be a hit anywhere you take them.

I get about 30 soft amaretti out of the quantity below {these are not the hard variety}, and like to top most of them with blanched almonds and a few with glace cherries. Mostly just for me because nobody else seems to actually like the glace cherries.

😉

What you need

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 3.5 cups of almond meal
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• icing sugar for dusting, sifted
• blanched almonds or glace cherries to top the amaretti, either or both is fine, whichever you prefer

What to do

Preheat your oven to 180C fan forced or 200C without a fan. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper, or one large one depending on the size.

In a bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until combined and just starting to turn pale, then add the liqueur and extract, and mix through. Stir through the almond meal, flour, and baking powder, and using a wooden spoon, mix until well combined.

Roll teaspoon sized amounts into a ball, roll in the icing sugar lightly, and place on the baking tray. Top each amaretti with either a blanched almond or glace cherry, and bake for 20 minutes, until slightly golden. Let the amaretti cool, and enjoy!