Amaretti

By cookism

When the whole house is permeated with the sweet scent of almonds, you know that amaretti biscuits are being baked. We simply can't get enough of this classic Italian almond macaroon; they don't look pretty but they sure taste divine. When you first bite into it, your teeth meet with a slight resistance from the crispy crust, before sinking further into its crumbly-chewy insides. From then on, it's an experience that you have to undergo yourself to know. So bake a couple of these lovely biscuits, grab a coffee and enjoy them curled up on your couch!

Ingredients

• 125 g of Ground Blanched Almond
• 125 g of Icing Sugar
• 1 tbsp of Plain Flour
• 2 Egg Whites
• 80 g Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp of Almond Extract

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 150C. Place almonds, icing sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir well.
2. Add egg whites into a dry and grease-free mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the whites until soft peaks form. Add in a spoonful of sugar at a time while beating continuously till shiny stiff peaks are achieved. Occasionally, use a spatula to scrap in any sugar that is clinging onto the sides of the mixing bowl during the beating process. Fold in almond extract.
3. Gently fold flour mixture into the egg white mixture in a few batches with a rubber spatula. Mix till just combined. Spoon mixture to piping bag with a 1 cm plain nozzle.
4. Pipe 3 cm-wide balls onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, making sure the balls are well-spaced, about 2 cm apart as they will expand whilst baking. Press the tips down with a damp finger and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar to allow biscuits to cool and dry out. Pair amaretti with coffee or just simply on its own! Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container to keep fresh.