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.
Anne
Took these cookies to an event and they were gone in 2 seconds. Spent the rest of the evening referring friends to this recipe! Delicious and different and Gluten Free too!
Maria
How wonderful Anne! I am thrilled to hear they were a success for you! Thanks so much for sharing, appreciate it!
Joseph
Could I use amaretto liqueur in lieu of the bitter almond extract? If so, can I use more than a teaspoon of amaretto? I love amaretto!
Maria
That is such a great question Joseph. I’m sure you can use it but I can’t tell you the exact amount without testing it. There are so few ingredients in this recipe that the ratio of liquid to dry is very important. I would start with 1 teaspoon and take it from there. If you do decide to try it, I would love to hear about your results and if the cookie has a nice dome. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Maria
Hi, have you ever pour amaretto after the cookies are baked? I friend of mine told me that his grandma used to make them like that. Instead of pouring amaretto into the dough, she used to drizzle themselves just right after get out from the oven. Please let me know if you or someone else made them like that, share how you made them.
Maria
I’ve never heard of that Maria. It sounds like an interesting and tasty experiment! Thanks for sharing!
Gina
This is the only recipe that worked for me , I’d given up hope. Glad to say they turned out great. Only recipe I need. Thank you.
Maria
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you Gina. Appreciate you taking the time to share.
Masanori
When I was in Italy this summer, I picked up soft Amaretti cookies. My son and I fell in love with them. We went online for a recipe and found yours. The recipe was very easy to follow! My 12 year-old son did most of it. Our cookies looked so professional and tasted as good, if not better than, the ones from Italy. My son is 1/4 Italian. Baking Amaretti cookies was actually a way for him to embrace his roots! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Maria
How wonderful Masanori! I am thrilled to hear you both enjoyed this amaretti recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to share, appreciate it!
Masanori
On our second trial, we experimented with a monk fruit sweetener. To give you the conclusion, it was a complete failure! So, stick with regular sugar!
We used the Lakanto brand (the first ingredient being erythritol followed by monk fruit extract). First of all, the cookie dough did not rise at all. The texture turned out to be terrible. They were gooey, both inside and outside.
Maria
You never know until you try! Thanks so much for sharing your experiment with all of us. Hope you have a wonderful weekend Masanori!
Gnome
Way too much lemon. Nice texture though.
Maria
Thanks for sharing Gnome. That’s the beauty of making your own cookies, you can always tweak the recipe. Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it!
Roger the Cat
I did not get beautiful cracking! And they are hardening as we speak. When you place the balls on the parchment did you squish them down a little to make more of a cookie shape? or just place the balls? My first batch I cooked 26 minutes and they look horrible and are hard as a rock, I lightly pressed them to flatten. The second batch I only cooked 23 minutes and I gently pressed them with the bottom of a wine glass. The taste of the cookies is exceptional, but they still are not right. I had one the other day. It was beautifully browned and I think they used a coarse sugar to roll it in. Any tips or correction is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Maria
Roger, I am sorry to hear you are having issues getting the right texture. Based on what you told me, here are my comments/suggestions and maybe this will trigger the solution.
-There is no need to flatten the cookie.
-The cookie is rolled in sugar. As you can see in the video, before I roll the cookies in the granulated sugar, I gently roll the cookie between the palm of my hands (previously dampened and lightly pressed into a plate of sugar- this prevents the dough from sticking to your hands).
-Did you use a scale to measure the almond flour? It sounds like the ratio of flour to egg white might be a bit off and they are drying out in the oven.
-The next time, instead of baking a whole batch, try baking just a few to see if you have the right consistency…
Please feel free to get back to me with any questions. Sometimes it takes a couple of little tweaks 🙂
Maria
I have been unable to find bitter almond extract. Will the regular pure almond extract work?
Maria
Yes, that is a good replacement. Thanks for stopping by Maria.
Grace
My first test batch was a success! I used Almond Meal instead of almond flour and it turned out fine. However, the color of the cookies was not a beautiful cream color as your photos show, but were a little bit darker and mottled with bits of the almond skin. The cookie was still crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I will try it with the almond flour another time. I brought them to work and everyone loved them!
I also tried rollng the dough and shaping the cookies into crescent shapes (like I saw at Whole Foods bakery in Los Angeles) and sprinkled some slivered almonds on them. I cooked those for 20 minutes since they were not as thick. Those cookies went just as quickly! THANK YOU for sharing this recipe!
Maria
How wonderful Grace! Love the idea of shaping these amaretti in a crescent shape. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with this recipe, appreciate it.
Lil
Thank you very much for the recipe. I love amaretti and have been looking for a soft recipe like this. Can you tell me where I can buy the bitter almond extract? Look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you.
Maria
Hi Lil, thanks so much for your interest. The bitter almond extract is usually available wherever you buy extracts. Any major grocery stores should carry it. Thanks so much for stopping by.