Amaretti

These cookies taste exactly like the Amaretti cookies you can buy in gourmet specialty shops. You've seen them, they come in a fancy tin and each cookie is individually wrapped, adding to the charm of what is otherwise an extremely expensive tin of cookies. I had a lot of trouble with the cookies when I made them. They were supposed to puff up but instead they sort of spread out and stuck to the greased and floured cookie sheets I was using. I read that flour lined parchment might be better so I'm suggesting that here. I ended up scraping the stuck cookies off the sheets while they were still warm and rolling them in my hand to get the round look they were supposed to have. Not the most glamorous thing to do, but I managed to salvage what was about to turn into a cooking disaster. Regardless of that, the cookies were very delicious and worth the hassle because everyone loved them.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds toasted
• 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar



Method

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Lightly flour parchment paper and line cookie sheets.

In a food processor, chop the almonds until very fine. In a bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. Fold in the almonds, granulated sugar, powdered sugar and almond extract. Mix until completely blended. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag, make walnut sized mounds onto the parchment lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, and bake for about 20 mins or until golden brown.

yeild: about 4 dozen

Written by Deb on December 22, 2002 02:37 AM