Amaretti are a typical Italian specialty, amaretti with limes are my husband’s favorite macarons. He most preferably enjoys them with some strong espresso, but on the whole, he just can’t get enough of them. 😉 Thank goodness, they are so easy and quick to make that we always have them in our cookie tin, in good supply, of course.
Strictly speaking, amaretti are small macarons made of egg whites, almonds and sugar. Most recipes also add vanilla and amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur) for refinement and sophistication. I included another ingredient and that is the grated zest of a lime. The flavor of the lime gives the little cookies a special touch.
When you bake them, make sure that they are rather dried than baked. They shouldn’t be soft inside because then they get chewy and cannot be stored.
There are a lot of amaretti recipes to be found in the world wide web and in cook books. I went into research and tried to figure out how the Italians are making these little delicacies. Although I don’t speak any Italian I understand enough when reading a recipe in Italian to know what I have to do. Therefore, I did some research on Italian websites and that’s how I adapted and created this recipe. They are certainly worth a try! Ask Peter, my husband! 😉
Amaretti with Lime
About 150 amaretti ( ½ inch in size )
200 g (7 ounces) almonds, blanched
200 g (1 cup) sugar, granulated
1 ½ tablespoons vanilla sugar (or some vanilla essence)
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur), optional
½ lime, zest
Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan, 300°F, gas mark 2).
Put the blanched almonds and the granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are very finely grated. Stop before the almonds and the sugar start getting a paste. Whisk the egg whites until peaks form. Fold in the almonds and the sugar, vanilla sugar (vanilla essence), amaretto (almond liqueur) and the grated zest of half a lime.
Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put the mixture into an icing bag with a ¼ inch (0,5 cm) nozzle and pipe round cookies of about ½ inch (1 ½ cm) in diameter onto the baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. The cookies should be rather dried than soft.
Note:
They can be stored in a tin for about 2 weeks.
Use parchment paper instead of non-stick baking spray, if possible, as it will be easier to pipe the little round cookies on the baking sheet.
If you don’t have an icing bag (piping bag), you can also use a freezer bag instead. Fill in the mixture, then cut off a small piece of one corner (about ½ cm, ¼ inch) to get a small hole for piping. Twist the icing bag just above the mixture to make the piping easier.
Here is the recipe for printing:
- 200 g (7 ounces) almonds, blanched
- 200 g (1 cup) sugar, granulated
- 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla sugar (or some vanilla essence)
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur), optional
- ½ lime, zest
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan, 300°F, gas mark 2).
- Put the blanched almonds and the granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are very finely grated. Stop before the almonds and the sugar start getting a paste. Whisk the egg whites until peaks form. Fold in the almonds and the sugar, vanilla sugar (vanilla essence), amaretto (almond liqueur) and the grated zest of half a lime.
- Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put the mixture into an icing bag with a ¼ inch (0,5 cm) nozzle and pipe round cookies of about ½ inch (1 ½ cm) in diameter onto the baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. The cookies should be rather dried than soft.
