I’ve been slacking this past week. I’ve been dying to post here, but there’s been so much going on! Ameen and I redid the brickwork in the back yard and deep-cleaned the stones and cement in the driveway, as well as added new gravel for a less muddy parking situation. We changed home insurance, car insurance, and closed on our loan! We are just a little bit closer to having our “home-owner” ducks in a row (and one good looking yard if I don’t say so myself!).
But that’s not to say I haven’t been cooking. I’ve been quite busy in fact, with my friend Jane’s graduation party and Ameen’s birthday to cook for. For the graduation party I wanted to bring a little something sweet, nothing too fancy or rich but a snack-like dessert easy to pop in the mouth in between sips of champagne (or in this case, Rolling Rock straight from the keg out back).
I remembered the amaretti that my Nicole (the pastry chef) used to make at the restaurant we worked at. They were served as an accompaniment to her luscious desserts and even crushed as a garnish for ice cream. They were also a favorite snack of mine when I worked garde manger (sorry Nicole! lol).
They consist of nothing more than blanched, ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites flavored with almond and vanilla extracts, but result in a cookie significantly more flavorful than the sum of its parts. The sticky dough is piped out into cute little mounds and coated with sugar, then baked until slightly golden and crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. The bigger and less cooked, the chewier they are and conversely, the smaller and more cooked, the crisper they are. I like the best of both worlds, so this time I made small cookies that I bake until just golden brown.
To make the cookies a little more special (Jane did graduate from college after all!) I dipped them halfway in melted bittersweet chocolate. The chewy, nutty, crisp cookies with the smooth, bittersweet chocolate were perfect. Chocolate-dipped amaretti are just the right thing to toast to life’s many celebrations and triumphs, whether big (like a graduation) or small (like the weekend). Congratulations Jane!
Chocolate-dipped Amaretti Cookies
These addictive little cookies can be made large or small (depending on your mood) and baked until just set and still chewy or until golden brown and crisp.
Makes 30 large or 60 small cookies
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups almond flour or 3 cups (400 grams) blanched or raw almonds
1 ¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar (plus extra for dusting)
½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons (6 grams) almond extract
4 large (130 grams) egg whites
1 ½ cups (250 grams) bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
Prepare the almonds. If using almond flour or blanched almonds, skip this step. If using raw almonds, you need to blanch them. Preheat the oven to 350° and bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then add the almonds and cook for 1 minute. Drain the almonds and spread out on a sheet pan to cool. Use your fingers to slip the almonds out of their skins, then roast the almonds for 10 minutes until they are dry but not toasted.
Make the dough. Grind the blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add the sugar to the ground almonds, along with the extracts and pulse until combined. Turn the food processor on and add the egg whites slowly. Scrape the mixture down from the sides of the work bowl and continue processing until the dough is very smooth and sticky.
Pipe the cookies. Line a sheet pan with a silicone liner. Put the dough in a piping bag fitted with a straight or star tip and pipe 1-inch wide cookies about 1 inch apart from each other. Alternatively, use a spoon to form teaspoon-sized cookies. Sprinkle sugar over the cookies, then bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size and how golden brown you like them). Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. The cookies can be eaten as is, and will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Dip the cookies in chocolate. Line a sheet pan with waxed paper, parchment paper, or a silicone liner. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute, then stir and continue microwaving and stirring in 30 second increments until smooth and glossy. Dip each cookie in the chocolate half-way, then place on the sheet pan to set. You could also drizzle the chocolate over the cookies instead.
