This recipe for Italian Chocolate Amaretti Cookies combines almond flour with a few simple ingredients for delicious dairy and gluten-free chocolate cookies.
⅓cupicing (powdered) sugar (for rolling cookies in)or granulated sugar or a combination of both
Instructions
Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk until blended. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites on low until frothy and then on medium-high speed until medium to firm peaks form. Add almond extract and gently combine.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the almond flour mixture until the mixture is a uniform sticky dough.
Using a small cookie scoop (size 60) to scoop dough. Dust your palms with a bit of icing sugar before rolling cookie dough into smooth ball. The balls of cookie dough should be just a bit over 1 inch wide in size.
Place the cookie balls onto the baking sheet, spacing them about an inch and a half apart. Repeat until your sheet is full.
Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch.
Notes
I like to use a cookie scoop that's about 1.25 to 1.5 inch wide, or a size 60 scoop. A size 60 scoop will hold just about 1 tablespoon of liquid. So if you don't own a cookie scoop, you can use a tablespoon to portion the dough.
For best results, I recommend using a food scale for this recipe. Without a scale, you could end up using a bit more almond flour then you should. If you must use cups to measure, fluff the flour with a fork or small whisk before measuring. Then lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Make sure that you're not packing it in and don't tap the cup on the counter. Use a straight-edged utensil to level off the cup.
Almond flour. I used a finely ground almond flour made with blanched (skins removed) almonds.
Unsweetened Cocoa powder. I used Dutch processed cocoa powder, it has a more intense chocolate flavour than regular cocoa powder. Either can be used in this recipe.
Amaretti can be frozen for up to three months. Place them in a freezer safe container or freezer bag and store in the freezer. Thaw cookies overnight in the refrigerator.