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pipe/press - Almond Cookies #1

Source of Recipe

from corby kummer, atThe Atlantic, an online journal


Recipe Introduction

I had a request from ArnoldS for these. Hope either of the 2 recipes listed is what he was asking for. Also known as Amaretti. These well-known Italian cookies are produced commercially in Saronno, in Lombardy, but this is the recipe from Sasello, in the province of Savona, whose amaretti are homemade and more memorable. In Liguria, amaretti are typically served with tea, with fruit, with wine, and as a stuffing for peaches. You must understand that these are not bitter cookies with almonds, but rather cookies made with sweet almonds (the type you are used to) and bitter almonds (which you can find in pastry shops, good fruit-and-nut sellers, and some health food stores).

Recipe Link: www.theatlantic.com/unbound/corby/paradise.htm#almond

List of Ingredients

2 teaspoons sweet butter
1 tablespoon unbleached flour
2/3 cup peeled, blanched bitter almonds
...(available in health food stores and specialty shops)
3/4 cup peeled, blanched sweet almonds
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon powdered confectioners sugar


Recipe

Grease a baking sheet with the butter and then top with the flour.
Tap to remove any excess flour.
Place the bitter and sweet almonds and sugar together in a blender/
food processor and blend together until it is a powder. Pour into
a bowl and set aside.
Whisk the egg whites until you see peaks.
Using a wooden spoon, add the egg whites to the powder.
Stir about 5 to 8 minutes, or until smooth.
Place a heaping teaspoon onto baking sheet, approximately 1 inch
in diameter. Place cookies 1 inch apart.
OR
Place dough into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip. Pipe the
batter to form 1 inch in diameter mounds.
Set the sheet aside in a cool, draft - free spot for 3 hours and to let
the mounds expand.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, 15 minutes before ready to bake.
Dust/sift cookies with the powdered sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until light gold in color, and crunchy.
Let cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
Makes 24 cookies.


May serve at room temperature and they may also be stored in an
airtight container for about 10 days.