Amaretti

By norsegal8

Amaretti means "little bitter things", from the practice, common in Italy, of using both sweet and bitter almonds in the dough. (Bitter almonds cannot be imported into the United States.) Here, these not-at-all bitter macaroons are made with almond paste, the best of which is available in bulk at specialty markets or in cans at supermarkets. For cookies that have thin, crisp outside and a soft, chewy interior, avoid almond paste packaged in tubes - it has more sugar than the canned kind and won't produce a good cookie.

Ingredients

• One 8-ounce can of almond paste
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large egg whites, beaten just to break up
• 1/4 pound (approximately) pine nuts (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Cut the almond paste into ½-inch cubes and toss into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add half the sugar and mix on low speed until the paste is broken into small crumbs. Add the rest of the sugar and continue to mix until the crumbs are very fine, about 2 minutes. Add the egg whites in 3 to 4 additions, scraping down the bowl when the mixture starts to stick to the bottom and beating until the batter is free of lumps. You don’t want to beat a lot of air into this mixture, because it will cause the amaretti to rise in the oven and then fall – what you are after is a nice, even puff that persists.

PIPING THE COOKIES
Fit a pastry bag with a ¾-inch plain tip and pipe the dough into mounds on the baking sheets, making each amaretti about 1 ¼ inches in diameter and ½ inch high; leave about 1 ½ inches between cookies. Alternatively, you can use a small scoop to form the amaretti, using about a tablespoon of batter for each cookie.
Just before baking, wet a cotton or linen kitchen towel (terry won’t work) and gently squeeze out the excess water; don’t wring the towel out – you want it to be wet. Fold the towel into a strip 2 inches wide and, letting the holding one end of the towel in each hand and letting the center droop, gently dab the tops of the cookies with the center of the towel. Use an up-and-down motion to pat the cookies with the towel several times, until their tops are smooth, slightly flattened and glistening. (Wetting the tops like this will remove the ridges from piping and will help produce the crinkly top that is typical of these cookies.) If you are using the pine nuts, press them gently onto the amaretti.

BAKING THE COOKIES
Bake the amaretti until they are well risen, lightly colored, and covered with fine cracks, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the cookies, parchment paper and all, to racks and cool completely.
Gently pull the amaretti off the paper. If any of the cookies stick, just lift the paper, brush the underside with a little hot water, give it a few seconds to sink in, then peel off the cookie.

STORING
Kept in an airtight container, amaretti will remain moist and chewy for a few days, then become dry and crisp.