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Soft Amaretti Cookies
“Most amaretti cookies in America are the dry, hard, industrial kind, which serve a purpose for extended shelf life; we use them in many of our dessert preparations,” says Luke Palladino chef/owner of Luke Palladino at Harrah’s in Atlantic City. “These amarettis remind me of Italy. They are soft, aromatic and chewy, a real treat--and even hard to find in Italy these days.”
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Makes approx. 30-35 amaretti
Ingredients:
1oz. roasted hazelnuts
4 ½ oz. blanched almonds
3oz. almond paste
1 pound sugar
5 oz. egg whites
Powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation:
1. pulse the nuts finely in a food processor. Add the almond paste, sugar and egg whites and process until the mixture comes together.
2. spoon the mixture into a piping bag.
3. pipe mixture on silpats the size of a half dollar. (Silpats are fiberglass nonstick mats. Or use a nonstick cookie sheet.) With 1” of space between them.
4. dust liberally with powdered sugar.
5. leave for 12 hours so that the mixture can dry out slightly. After this time they will have formed a “skin”.
6. pinch the cookies lightly with your fingers to break the skin and give a knobby appearance.
7. bake the cookies at 350f for 10-15 minutes until they are light golden in color.
8. cool at room temperature.
