Amaretti Cookies are traditional Italian biscuits with soft and chewy marzipan-like center and crispy edges. Made with almond flour, egg whites, and almond extract, this recipe is naturally gluten-free, aromatic, and very easy to make.
These delicious Amaretti Cookies are my new favorite cookies! They are a traditional Italian treat that will remind you more of macaroons with soft and chewy inside with crispy outside edges.
Similar to my Pistachio Cookies, they get their classic flavor and aroma from almond flour and almond extract, while the egg whites provide delicious marzipan-like texture. They both will be a great addition to the Christmas cookie exchange recipes.
What are Amaretti Cookies
Also known as Amaretti morbidi, these are traditional Italian cookies that are made with almond flour, sugar, whipped egg whites, and almond extract. Depending on the region, the texture of these macaroon-like biscuits can vary from soft to a chewy center.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ cups almond flour, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp lemon zest, and ¼ tsp salt.
In a separate mixing bowl, using a mixer, beat 2 large egg whites until stiff peaks.
Then transfer the beaten egg whites to the dry ingredients, add ½ tsp almond extract, and using a spatula, fold it in until well combined.
Prepare ½ cup powdered sugar on a plate.
Using a 1 ½ tbsp ice cream scoop or a regular spoon, scoop out the cookie dough and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Roll it in powdered sugar to cover from all the sides and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.
Bake at 300˚F for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are set and cracked and the bottom is light golden color. Then take out of the oven and let sit on the counter for about 10-15 minutes, they will finish setting and baking inside. Then transfer to a wire rack and let cool off completely.
Tips for best results
- Egg whites. When mixing egg whites with the dry ingredients, you don’t have to be too gentle. The egg whites won’t deflate. The dough will be sticky and you just need to mix it well, so all the ingredients are well combined.
- Rolling the cookies. When you roll the cookie dough into the balls, the dough will be quite sticky. To prevent them from sticking too much to your hands, you can dust your fingers and palms with some powdered sugar and then roll the dough.
- Baking. If you like your cookies to be more gooey and have more of a marzipan texture inside, you can bake them for just 30 minutes. If you like them to have a more crunch outside and caky texture inside, bake them for 35 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can keep them in an air-tight container on the counter for 4-5 days.
Yes! Because they are made with almond flour, they are naturally gluten free!
No, I use almond extract in my recipe. If you want to add some alcohol, you can substitute the almond extract with Amaretto liquor.
No. Unfortunately, you cannot substitute the flours in this recipe. If you don’t have almond flour on hands, you can finely ground blanched and dried almonds at home.
More Cookie Ideas:
- Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
- Danish Butter Cookies Recipe
- Fudgy Brownie Cookies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Twix Cookies
- Almond Spritz Cookies
- Halloween Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies recipe
- Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Apricot Rugelach
- Monster Cookies
- Sour Cream Cookies
Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ¼ cups almond flour, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp lemon zest, and ¼ tsp salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, using a mixer, beat 2 large egg whites until stiff peaks.
- Then transfer the beaten egg whites to the dry ingredients, add ½ tsp almond extract, and using a spatula, fold it in until well combined.
- Prepare ½ cup powdered sugar on a plate.
- Using a 1 ½ tbsp ice cream scoop or a regular spoon, scoop out the cookie dough and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Roll it in powdered sugar to cover from all the sides and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.
- Bake at 300˚F for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are set and cracked and the bottom is light golden color. Then take out of the oven and let sit on the counter for about 10-15 minutes, they will finish setting and baking inside. Then transfer to a wire rack and let cool off completely.
Notes
- Egg whites. When mixing egg whites with the dry ingredients, you don’t have to be too gentle. The egg whites won’t deflate. The dough will be sticky and you just need to mix it well, so all the ingredients are well combined.
- Rolling the cookies. When you roll the cookie dough into the balls, the dough will be quite sticky. To prevent them from sticking too much to your hands, you can dust your fingers and palms with some powdered sugar and then roll the dough.
- Baking. If you like your cookies to be more gooey and have more of a marzipan texture inside, you can bake them for just 30 minutes. If you like them to have a more crunch outside and cakey texture inside, bake them for 35 minutes.
- How to store. You can keep them in an air-tight container on the counter for 4-5 days.
Need help! These came out very dry and were extremely difficult to round into anything. The recipe was followed to a “t” and baked accordingly, but just getting them into balls was a huge challenge. Dry, dry, dry. I know they are supposed to be biscuit-like, but there is nothing “soft and chewy” about any portion of the balls I created!
I re-read the recipe to see if I missed something and also to see if you provided any additional notes about “What if my dough is dry?” but there was nothing. No one seems to have experienced this challenge but me.
They are delicious but very dry.
The cookies taste really nice however I think I measured out too much almond flour. Do u measure like flour?? I scooped into measuring cup. So it was more packed. When all mixed my batter wasn’t that sticky. And cookies didn’t crack that much. It would be good to have almond flour amount in ounces or grams.
Hi Rebecca. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies. You need to measure almond flour similar to regular all-purpose flour. To do so, scoop the flour into a measuring cup and scrape the back of the butter knife across the top to level it. You don’t need to pack it.
Can the dough be frozen or can the baked cookies be frozen?
Hi Tia! Yes, you can freeze bake cookies for about a month.
These cookies are absolutely gorgeous! Love anything that has a cracked top like these.
So much almond flavor, these cookies are great! Love the soft middles and crispy shells.
These biscuits are so delicious! The lemon flavor was a nice touch and I really enjoyed it with my tea! This is a keeper.
I love amaretti and I love biscuits. There is just no way I am not going to enjoy this recipe lol!
Love these Italian biscuits! They are simple to make, and the outcome is amazing! Definitely my favorite Italian biscuits!
I love amaretti. They are one of my favorite cookies. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to make them, so I had to look for an Italian bakery whenever the craving hit. It was a sad situation, until NOW! These are amazing. I love them. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
These amaretti biscuits are so delicious! I love all the flavors and they were gone by the end of the day!
These cookies turned out perfectly! Just as promised, they had such a wonderfully soft and chewy texture, and I just loved those crisp edges.
Light and airy little gems. Perfect for the dessert tray. Great for the holidays.