Soft Amaretti Cookies are a moist & chewy classic Italian cookie. This recipe has been tested until perfect making it the best ever gluten free recipe for amaretti morbidi. You are going to love them!
Amaretti (plural) are almond flavored Italian macaroons that can have a texture ranging from soft and chewy to crispy. Amaretti can be found throughout Italy with each region claiming to have “the best” version of this cookie.
Without a doubt, the most famous commercially sold Amaretti are made by the Lazzaroni family in the city of Saronno located in the Northern area of Lombardy: Amaretti di Saronno. They are beautifully wrapped amaretti that come packaged in an easily recognizable red tin can. The Lazzaroni family have been making these Italian almond cookies since 1719.
Amaretti morbidi are, without a doubt, perfect for your holiday cookie platter. They also make great hostess gifts. There are endless variations that can be found for Italian Amaretti Cookies, but today I’d like to share my tested until perfect recipe.
If you speak a bit of Italian, you will have probably guessed that the word amaretti is derived from the word amaro, which means bitter. And so in order to get the true authentic taste of an amaretti, you must use bitter almonds. They aren’t readily available in North America, so I replaced them with bitter almond extract.
This Italian almond cookie recipe also calls for almond flour (if you recall, we also used almond flour in this other version of amaretti Cookies). The finely ground almond flour will provide a smooth texture that will taste like marzipan.
If you prefer a coarser texture, you can use blanched almonds, and grind your own. This will provide you with amaretti biscuits that still have that same great flavor, but with a less refined texture.
That perfect smooth texture and those pretty cracks on the surface of these chewy amaretti cookies depend on incorporating exactly the right amount of egg whites into the ground almond mixture.
That’s the challenge!
Come and take a look at how to make this amaretti cookie recipe… it’s a lot easier than you think!
How to make soft amaretti cookies
I have divided the process of making amaretti cookies as follows:
The dry ingredients: The dry ingredients consist of almond flour, sugar and lemon zest. It’s important to whisk the almond flour and the sugar really, really well together. We also need to add the finely grated lemon zest. Once everything is whisked together, set it aside while we whisk the egg whites.
The wet ingredients: The wet ingredients consist of 3 egg whites and bitter almond extract. With a whisk, beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage (ie: when the whites begin to curl). I then add the bitter almond extract, and whisk for another minute or so.
The combination: Gently incorporate the egg white mixture with the dry ingredients. In just a few minutes, the almond flour will absorb the egg whites and you will obtain a nice sticky mixture.
The rolling of amaretti: Begin by portioning the amaretti dough. I like to use a small ice cream scooper, that way, all of the amaretti biscuits will be the same size. I will then dampen my hands and press my palms into a plate of sugar (I picked up this trick from one of my favorite blogs, Jovina Cooks. Thanks Jovina 🙂 )
I like to roll them a little bit more in the sugar and then onto the baking sheet and into the oven.
That’s it! Simple right?
The only thing left to do is get the coffee ready because in just 25 minutes, you will not believe what will come out of your oven! The most delicious amaretto cookies!
Recipe origins
Over thirty years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Sardinia. Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is geographically located to the west of Italy. I can still remember the landscapes and the turquoise waters—breathtaking and beautiful beyond words.
One of the best souvenirs I have from Sardinia was a conversation I had with a local merchant – she actually shared her Amaretti recipe with me! Even then, I was curious about cookies, and I guess she picked up on that. As was mentioned, the original recipe calls for bitter almonds, which I replaced with bitter almond extract, except for one year…
A few years ago, Vittoria (the same wonderful person who shared her Limoncello recipe with me) brought me a bag of processed bitter almonds from Italy. I used them in this amaretti recipe and the taste was incredible! For the record, you need to add about one ounce of these ground almonds. So, if you are ever in Italy, you can look for processed bitter almonds. Don’t forget to declare them at customs!
Hope you get a chance to try this recipe… would love to hear how they turned out for you.
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made these Amaretti Cookies, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Recipe
Soft Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 grams almond flour scant 2 ½ cups
- 200 grams sugar approx 1 cup
- lemon zest of one medium lemon
- 3 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon bitter almond extract
- extra granulated sugar for rolling sprinkle ⅓ cup in a large dinner plate, set aside
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Position rack in the center.
- Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk almond flour and sugar together.
- Add grated lemon zest and whisk a few more times. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites to a soft peak stage.
- Whisk in the bitter almond extract.
- Gently incorporate the egg whites to the dry ingredients. Once the dough is completely moist, you are done.
- Use the smallest ice cream scooper to portion the dough (about 1 tablespoon).
- With slightly damp hands, press your palms into the plate of sugar.
- Roll each ball of dough with your sugar coated palms and then again in the sugar found on the plate.
- Place on the paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown in color.
- Cool before storing at room temperature in airtight containers. Will keep for 3-4 days.
Video
Notes
- Some recipes will recommend using superfine sugar. I use granulated sugar and am very happy with the results.
- Any almond extract that lists oil of bitter almond as an ingredient can be used.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 13, 2014 and republished on November 21, 2017 with updated content, photos and a video. Thanks for watching and sharing.
Susie
Hi Maria, the cookies were too good I have made them for friends and Family and they are a big hit! I did add amaretto and made some batches rolled In powdered sugar. Happy New Year!
Maria
How wonderful Susie! Great variation! Happy New Year to you as well!
Victoria
Is it possible to sub amaretto for the almond flavoring?
Maria
Thanks for your interest Victoria! I think it will provide you with a different taste but it is definitely possible.
Would love to hear about your results if you do decide to try it.
Summer Shallouf
Just made this recipe with my toddlers! They enjoyed rolling them into balls and dipping them into gold colored sugar. We wanted to make them a little more festive so we cut some maraschino cherries in half and topped each cookie with one! They came out scrumptious! Not to mention extremely festive! ❤️❤️❤️Thank you for sharing this recipe! 😘
Maria
How wonderful Summer! Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing.
Colleen S.
Made these and they are pure perfection! I’ve tried other recipes, but I think the lemon zest is key in this one. Delicious. Thanks!
Maria
How wonderful Colleen! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, appreciate it.
Carmen
Hi Maria,
Just completed my second batch of this recipe and they are absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
So far, I have enjoyed all your recipes. Over the last 2 days I’ve made the following and they all turned out beautifully and are delicious.
– Chestnut Cookies
– Pumpkin Biscotti
– Authentic Italian Anise Biscotti
– Italian S Cookies
Seeing as we cannot see family during COVID-19 pandemic, I will be gifting these cookies to family and friends; delivering to their doors 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful site; I’ll for sure be making more recipes from it … next is the Broccoli Rabe Soup!
Wishing you and your family great Holiday Season and all the best in the New Year.
Maria
Oh my, Carmen! You have been busy! Thanks so much for taking the time to share, I truly appreciate it! SO thrilled to read this.
I would also like to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas.
Sue Behari-McGinty
Hello Maria:
I tried your recipe and it worked out beautifully. I kept the recipe to blanched ground almonds and my cookies looked exactly like yours and turned out great. My oven worked better at 300 degrees. I also adjusted a second batch by adding two teaspoons of cocoa powder and vanilla extract instead of the lemon rind and almond extract. I used icing sugar as a coating with those and popped a whole blanched almond on top. Those turned out great and looked so pretty.
My previous recipe had equal parts ground almond and sugar so I liked yours as it has less sugar. As a fellow dietitian I am always looking for ways to decrease sugar, but keep form and flavour. So thanks!
Maria
So nice to virtually meet you Sue! So thrilled to read this! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, appreciate it!
Cate
Hi Maria, thanks so much for posting this recipe. I am dying to try them but I can’t find bitter almond anywhere. I checked online on US, Canada and UK sites but no luck. Can you please tell me where you got it?
Maria
Hi Cate. I also can no longer find it. Look for bitter almond as an ingredient in pure almond extract… it works well. Thanks so much for your interest.
Donna
I ordered bitter almond on line. I believe it came from walmart.
Isabelle
Just wanted to let you know that I just tried this recipe and it turned out perfectly! I am not a seasoned baker whatsoever but these tasted delicious and some crinkled and some didn’t, I think only due to uneven heat in my small studio size oven! Delizioso!
Maria
Thanks Isabelle. So thrilled to read this!
Gayle Williamson
My batch did not “crinkle” like yours. I had to sub truvia for regular sugar so maybe that was it? Anyway, they still tasted really good. I just wonder why they didn’t crinkle as much.
Maria
Thanks for stopping by Gayle. Glad to hear you enjoyed the amaretti. Unfortunately, I have never baked with Truvia but I would agree that the sugar definitely creates the crinkling effect. Perhaps you need to play around with the heat?
Lisa
Hi Maria, I want to make the amaretti cookies for Christmas. I’m having trouble finding a place in the US that sells bitter almond extract. Where do you suggest?
I loved your story. My nana was born in 1901 in Naples and came to the US in 1920. I wish I found a book like you did. What a treasure.
Best, Lisa
Maria
What a wonderful group of women that generation was!
Try looking for a pure almond extract that lists bitter almond as an ingredient. I know Watkins has one. Please note this is an Amazon affiliate link… here is an example: pure almond extract
You can also try baking supply stores in your area, I’m sure they sell it.
As a last resort, if you have an Italian bakery in your neck of the woods, they might sell it.
As a substitution, there is always amaretto… not the full impact of taste but it can work.
Thanks for stopping by. Good luck!
Nora
My family loved these cookies. They are so easy to make. You don’t need to use almond paste but they have the same taste as almond paste cookies. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Maria
My pleasure Nora! Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it!