Almond Cookies
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Amaretti from Croatia. 4 ingredients. Gluten-free. Do not try to resist them.
These cookies are traditional on the island of Rab, where they also prepare a similar almond tart. To flavor the mixture they use Maraschino, but I used a little pear brandy Kruskovac which I bought from Istria last year. If you do not have something similar, you can omit it and let the cookies be flavored only with lemon zest. You can shape them round or as crescents. They are crispy on the outside, and soft, slightly chewy in the center.
I wish you Happy Holidays, may you cook with pleasure and ease for your loved ones and enjoy the beautiful weather that is coming.
Ingredients
200 g almond flour (or blanched almonds)
200 g powdered sugar
zest from 1 lemon
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon pear brandy (optional)
25 g whole almonds (with or without skin)
Pieces: 25
How to prepare almond cookies
- If using almond flour, just mix it well with the powdered sugar. If using whole almonds, grind them together with the sugar until you get a fine mixture.
- Add the lemon zest.
- Beat the egg whites with a fork just until they foam a little. Add them to the almonds along with the brandy and mix with a fork until you have a homogeneous mixture. The dough will be quite firm and hard to mix. If it is soft and sticks to your hand when shaping the cookies, just add a little almond flour (see photo 3, the cookies do not stick to the hand at all when shaping).
- Grind the whole almonds briefly, just enough to break them into a coarser breadcrumb-like texture.
- Break off pieces of dough and shape into balls (about the size of Raffaello candies) or small sticks. Roll them through the coarsely ground almonds. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (place the balls as they are, shape the sticks into crescents, like croissants).
- Bake the cookies at 180C for 10-12 minutes (if shaped as crescents) or 12-14 minutes (if shaped as balls). Remove them when they are lightly golden on top. They will still be soft in the center, so handle them carefully when removing from the tray.
- They are good right away, but the taste and texture seem to improve by the next day.
Lightly beaten egg whites
Cookie mixture
Shaping the balls
Rolling in ground almonds
Cookies in the pan
