Amarettini Cookies

Amaretti, the Italian name for macaroons, means "little bitter things". They consist of sugar, ground almonds, and egg whites and they can be flavored with chocolate or liqueur. I made mine to accompany Pots de Creme, but they are also great with ice cream, liqueur, or simply a good cup of coffee.
They are light, crunchy, and very sweet. Although, this recipe turned out not to be too sweet. They were just right.

Amarettinis
makes approx. 30 




3,38 oz / 100 ml Amaretto
1 teasp vanilla extract
3,5 oz / 100 g ground almond meal
30 whole almonds
3,5 oz / 100 g sugar
3,5 oz / 100 g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 300 F (150C) Bake / 270 F (130C) Convection. Line two to three baking trays with parchment paper.

Mix the Amaretto with the vanilla extract. Sift the powdered sugar over the almond meal and mix.

Beat the egg whites on a high with a hand mixer. While constantly beating slowly add sugar to the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.  Add the Amaretto mixure to the egg whites and blend shortly.
With a wooden spoon add the almond meal mixture to the egg mixture and carefully fold into the egg whites. Be careful not to liquidize the mixture.

With a spoon put drops of the mixture on the prepared baking trays. Garnish each cookie with an almond and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
Slide the cookies with the baking paper on a cooling rack and let cool.
Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.