Photo: Laura Edwards
A Christmas treat for you all - homemade amaretti biscuits. Sticky like marzipan and a far cry from artificially flavoured, crunchy impostors, you'll be amazed how easy these are to make. Be sure to coat the biscuits liberally in icing sugar so they crack properly in the oven. They make great gifts, as they required minimal ingredients and keep for a while in an airtight container.
This is a recipe from my second book, Crave. It is full of recipes; festive and year-round-favourites. Get a copy here.
Amaretti biscuits
Ingredients
2 egg whites
150g caster sugar
175g ground almonds
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur (or a few drops of almond extract)
Icing sugar, to dust
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3 and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
2. Put the egg whites in a large, clean grease-free bowl and whisk with an electric hand-held whisk or manual balloon whisk until stiff peaks form. Be warned that whisking them by hand will take considerably more time and effort!
3. Gently fold the sugar, almonds and amaretto liqueur or almond extract into the mixture, until a thick paste forms.
4. Roll the mixture into small balls using your hands, then coat each ball liberally in icing sugar – you should make about 30 biscuits – and place them on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 15–20 minutes until golden brown and cracked on top. The biscuits will keep well, stored in an airtight container, for up to 1 week.