Amarettini contain no flour. That is not a dietary decision, it is the core principle: two stiffly beaten egg whites hold together 200 g of almonds. Once you understand that, you will never end up with broken biscuits again.
We have been making these small almond biscuits for years. Not only at Christmas, but whenever two egg whites are left over after baking an egg-yolk recipe. The recipe is short: 200 g blanched almonds, 120 g sugar, 2 egg whites, 2 drops of bitter almond flavouring. The Thermomix® handles the grinding and pulverising in seconds. What matters after that is the egg white.
Amarettini with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 6 ✓
- 2 egg whites
- 1 pinch salt
- 120 g sugar
- 200 g blanched almonds
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar
- 2 drops bitter almond flavouring
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Whip the egg whites.
Insert the butterfly whisk, add the egg whites and salt to the mixing bowl, whip for 2 minutes / speed 4, then place in the fridge to keep cold.
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2
Clean the mixing bowl.
Remove the butterfly whisk, rinse the mixing bowl and dry it thoroughly.
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3
Pulverise the sugar.
Add the sugar to the mixing bowl, pulverise for 10 sec / speed 10 and set aside.
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4
Grind the almonds.
Add the almonds to the mixing bowl and grind finely for 20 sec / speed 10.
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5
Mix in the sugar.
Add the vanilla sugar, bitter almond flavouring and 90 g of icing sugar to the mixing bowl and mix for 5 sec / speed 4.
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6
Combine the mixture.
Gently fold the mixture into the egg whites and place heaped teaspoons onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
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7
Dust with sugar and leave to dry.
Dust with icing sugar and leave to dry at room temperature for 2 hours.
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8
Bake.
Preheat the oven to 150°C top and bottom heat (fan 130°C, gas mark 2). Bake the Amarettini on the middle shelf for 20 to 25 minutes.
Tip: Amarettini go beautifully with coffee throughout the year.
They also make a lovely gift when packed into a bag with a ribbon.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the egg whites determine everything
Amarettini are the opposite of shortcrust pastry. No flour, no butter, no raising agent. The only binding agent is the whipped egg whites. If they are not truly stiff, the mixture has too much liquid. The biscuits spread on the tray, bake flat and turn chewy instead of crisp.
The rule is simple: insert the butterfly whisk, add the egg whites and 1 pinch of salt, 2 minutes / speed 4. The salt breaks down the proteins and the Thermomix® whisks evenly. Then comes the most important step: put the bowl straight into the fridge. Warm egg white collapses before you have a chance to fold in the almond mixture.
Why real Amarettini need bitter almond
There are many almond biscuit recipes. What sets Amarettini apart from all of them is the bitter almond flavouring. In classic patisserie, 5 to 10 per cent of the almond content comes from bitter almonds. These are practically impossible to buy outside specialist shops, so we use the flavouring instead: 2 drops to 200 g of almonds. No more. Three drops and it tips into marzipan territory.
Leave out the bitter almond flavouring and you get almond biscuits. Overdo it and you get marzipan cookies. The narrow line between the two is what makes Amarettini what they are.
Where Amarettini go wrong: spreading or turning too hard
The mixture spreads on the tray
Nearly always the same problem: the egg whites were not stiff enough. Either they were not beaten long enough, or the mixing bowl had traces of fat. Fat prevents egg whites from being whipped up at all. We had to learn that ourselves twice. Our fix: after washing the mixing bowl, wipe it out with a dash of lemon juice. Then insert the butterfly whisk and only then add the egg whites. Whip for the full 2 minutes at speed 4, do not stop early.
The Amarettini turn out too hard
At 150°C top and bottom heat, 20 minutes is the maximum for a standard oven. If you wait 25 minutes, you get rock-hard biscuits. Ovens vary, some run hotter. Our fix: We check for the first time after 18 minutes. The Amarettini are ready when the surface is golden and the underside is lightly browned. Inside they will still be slightly soft when you take them out. That is correct: they firm up as they cool on the tray.
The drying step gets skipped
Leaving them to dry at room temperature for 2 hours before the Amarettini go into the oven sounds optional, but it is not. During this time a thin crust forms on the surface. That crust creates the characteristic crack during baking and prevents the biscuits from going flat. We skipped this step once and the result was disappointing: soft surfaces instead of crisp shells. Our fix: Portion the mixture in the evening, leave it to dry overnight and bake in the morning.
With pistachio, chocolate or lemon zest
Chocolate Amarettini: Add 20 g of cocoa powder to the mixing bowl along with the icing sugar. This does not replace the almonds, it complements the flavour. Leave out the bitter almond flavouring or reduce to 1 drop.
Lemon Amarettini: Mix the zest of one unwaxed lemon together with the vanilla sugar and icing sugar. Leave out the bitter almond flavouring. The result tastes fresher and less southern Italian, but for some people that is exactly what they are after.
Coconut Amarettini: Replace 50 g of the almonds with desiccated coconut. Still grind the almonds on speed 10 first, then briefly mix in the coconut on speed 5. Not too fine: the texture makes the difference.
As a gift: Place 10 to 12 Amarettini in a small cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon. The recipe yields around 50 pieces for about 5 euros in ingredients. One tray for your own coffee round, one bag as a little gift to bring along.
Cantuccini and shortcrust biscuits as a cluster
Amarettini are the classic biscuit to serve with coffee. Anyone who wants to keep baking after the Christmas season will find all biscuit and tart recipes made with the Thermomix® gathered in one place on our biscuit hub. If you want to use up the two leftover egg yolks, our Thermomix® Advocaat needs exactly 5 yolks. We often make both on the same afternoon. The Advocaat takes the yolks, the Amarettini take the whites. No leftovers, no waste.
If you prefer a harder, long-lasting almond bake, Cantuccini with the Thermomix® are a great alternative. They are baked twice and keep even longer.
3 weeks in an airtight tin, longer in the freezer
Stored in an airtight tin at room temperature, Amarettini keep for up to 2 weeks. Important: the tin must seal properly. Humidity makes the biscuits go soft. Do not store them in the fridge, as that also draws in moisture.
Freezing works well: in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Leave to thaw at room temperature before serving, then crisp up for 5 minutes at 130°C in the oven. The unbaked mixture can also wait in the fridge for up to 2 days. Simply cover it and let it come to room temperature shortly before baking.
What other recipes do differently
Goes well with: Espresso, Cappuccino and Vanilla Ice Cream.
Cookidoo and similar recipe sites use a piping bag with an 8 mm nozzle to pipe small dots, whereas we prefer to shape walnut-sized balls by hand. Some bakers dust the balls with icing sugar before baking and leave them to rest for two hours so the characteristic crisp crust forms. On the flavouring front, opinions differ: Cookidoo uses two drops of bitter almond flavouring plus Amaretto, others use pure bitter almond oil. Our tip: whip the egg whites until they are truly stiff, otherwise the Amarettini will spread in the Thermomix® oven at 150°C. Stored in a tin lined with baking paper they stay fresh for a good two weeks, and with chocolate chips they become a variation for espresso fans.
