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Amaretti

Category: Cookies

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(3.0) by 1 users

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Canned almond paste
1 cup Sugar
2 large Egg whites
Granulated sugar for dusting

Instructions:

PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 375F. Break the almond paste into small pieces and
combine it with the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low
speed until very fine. Add egg whites in 4 additions, mixing about 1
minute between each. Beat the paste until very smooth, about 2-to-3
minutes. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tube with the
mixture. Line 2 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with parchment
paper. Pipe the mixture on the paper in 1-to-1 1/2-inch mounds, about
1-inch apart. Fold a clean kitchen towel into a long strip and
moisten the towel with water. Squeeze lightly to eliminate excess
water, leaving the towel more than damp. Slap the surface of the
Amaretti gently with the towel to moisten them and make the surface
smooth. Sprinkle the Amaretti with granulated sugar. Bake about
15-to-20 minutes, until they are well risen, a deep golden color, and
their surface is covered with tiny cracks. Remove from the oven and
place the pans on racks to cool. To remove the Amaretti from the
papers, turn the papers over with the Amaretti still adhering to them
and wet the papers with hot water, using a brush. Leave a few
minutes, then pull on the papers to release the Amaretti. HERE ARE 2
VARIATIONS OF AMARETTI: Amaretti di Pinoli: After moistening the
piped Amaretti, strew them with pine nuts, sprinkling them on
heavily, then pressing lightly with the fingertips so that the pine
nuts adhere. Do not dust with sugar. Bake as for the Amaretti. Fior
di Mandorla: This variation of Amaretti is popular in Southern Italy
and Sicily, where the mixture is sometimes colored green or pink
during the mixing. Their rough, craggy appearance is a nice contrast
to the smoothness of the standard Amaretti. Prepare the Amaretti, up
to, and including, moistening them with the towel. Dust heavily with
confectioners' sugar and allow the piped mixture to dry at room
temperature, uncovered, at least 12 hours, or overnight. After they
have dried, indent each of the piped mounds with the thumb, first and
middle fingers of one hand, positioning them equidistant around the
circumference, and pinching gently inward, about half way into the
center. Bake the Fior di Mandorla at 375F, about 15-to-20 minutes.
Cool and loosen the Fior di Mandorla as for the Amaretti.