You'll love these Italian Amaretti Cookies! These almond cookies have a chewy texture and taste delicious. Made with almond flour, they're naturally gluten-free!
If you love the taste of almond paste, you'll love these Italian Amaretti Cookies, which contain the same ingredients. These cookies bake up slightly crispy on the outside. Inside they're soft, chewy and loaded with fresh almond flavor.
They taste incredible! Plus, they're relatively easy to make!
Recipe ingredients
These dairy-free, gluten-free Amaretti Cookies don't contain any flour or butter. A short list of ingredients will produce one of the best cookies of your life!
Almond Flour: A fine powder made from ground, peeled almonds forms the basis of these cookies. You can buy almond flour at Costco, grocery stores or online (affiliate link). Store it in the freezer to maintain freshness.
It's nice to keep in stock because you also can use it to make pignoli (pine nut) cookies, Italian rainbow cookies, torta Caprese and this gluten-free pear crisp.
Granulated Sugar: We tested these chewy Amaretti Cookies several times to determine the right amount of sugar to use. We nailed the recipe so it's sweet enough without overpowering the almond flavor!
Egg Whites: Half a cup of egg whites binds the dough. You can separate eggs to get the whites, or use clear egg whites sold in a carton.
Almond Extract: A generous splash of pure almond extract (affiliate link) provides the X-factor in these cookies. It's enough to bring delicious flavor without being too strong.
You can use amaretto liqueur instead, if you wish.
Powdered Sugar: Amaretti Cookies feature a coating of powdered sugar, also known as confectioners sugar. This recipe calls for dipping the amaretti once in the sugar. But, after baking the cookies, you can dust on more if you prefer them sweeter.
How to make Italian amaretti
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
Make the dough
- Combine the almond flour and sugar in a bowl.
- Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl for two minutes and stir in the almond extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Mix with a silicone spatula until a dough forms.
Shape into balls and flatten
- Scoop and roll the dough into 1 ½-inch balls.
- Roll the balls in powdered sugar.
- Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Use your fingers to flatten the cookies and bake.
Recipe tips
- It's best to use your fingers to flatten the cookies. Using the bottom of a glass smooths the tops too much and doesn't give the Amaretti Cookies their characteristic cracks.
- If you wish, you can press a whole almond onto the top of each cookie when they come out of the oven, for garnish and crunch.
How to store & freeze them
The amaretti taste best when fully cooled off. Store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to five days.
You also can freeze them for up to three months in a single layer in a zip-top bag, laying flat. The cookies will be cold but still chewy if eaten right out of the freezer. You can let them come to room temperature first, if you wish.
Amaretti meaning
The name "amaretti" comes from the word "amaro," which means "bitter" in Italian. Originally, the cookies were made with bitter almond or apricot kernels.
But don't worry, these almond flour Italian cookies aren't bitter at all!
In Italy, there are two main types of amaretti. Soft ones, like the amaretti recipe I'm sharing, are known as amaretti morbidi. Crispy ones are called "amaretti di Saronno" (affiliate link), named for the city they hail from in the Lombardy region.
More cookie recipes
- Almond Biscotti
- Italian Cookies
- Crispy Italian Pizzelle
- Hazelnut Biscotti with Chocolate
- Lemon Pizzelle
- Chocolate Pizzelle
Enjoy!
If you try this Amaretti Cookies recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
Italian Amaretti Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups almond flour (Measure by scooping into a cup and leveling it off.)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup egg whites (From 3 extra-large eggs or 4 large; see notes.)
- 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract (or use amaretto)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (or more as needed to coat the cookie dough balls)
- 18 whole almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease the pans. Add the powdered sugar to a small or medium bowl.
- Add the almond flour, granulated sugar and salt to a medium or large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the egg whites to a small mixing bowl. Whisk for two minutes, then whisk in the almond extract.
- Pour the egg white mixture into the almond flour mixture. Use a silicone spatula to combine everything until blended well and the batter forms a sticky dough.
- Begin rolling the dough into 1 ½-inch balls, using a small cookie scoop if you have one to measure out the dough, then rolling the dough into balls between the palms of your hands. You can coat your hands in powdered sugar to make it easier to roll the dough.
- Place each dough ball into the bowl of powdered sugar to coat it, then place the balls on the prepared pans, spacing them 1 ½-inches apart. If at any point, the dough becomes too sticky to work with, freeze it for 10 minutes.
- Use your hands to flatten the cookie dough balls a bit. (This helps to form the signature cracks in the amaretti cookies.) Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.
- Take the cookies out of the oven and let them rest in the pan for five minutes to set. Break open a cookie to make sure the inside is cooked through. If it seems a bit raw in the middle, put the pan back in the oven for a couple more minutes, then check again for doneness.
- After the baked amaretti cookies have rested for five minutes, transfer them to a cooling rack. If desired, press an almond onto the tops of some or all of the cookies.
- The amaretti taste best when fully cooled off. Store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to five days. You can freeze them for up to three months in a single layer in a zip-top bag, laying flat. The cookies will be chewy if eaten right out of the freezer, but you can let them come to room temperature first, if you wish.
Notes
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C)
Kristen Buchanan says
Wonder if taste would be affected if you substituted sugar for monk fruit. Additionally, monk fruit powdered sugar tastes very similar to the real stuff. Also if you soak almonds for a bit, you can rub off the skin with a tea towel. The skin contains lectins. Since these are gluten and dairy free why not them even healthier. Trying recipe tomorrow
Mamma C says
Hi Kristen - I use almond flour made from skinless almonds in this recipe. I haven't tried using monk fruit sweetener here, but I'd be interested in hearing how it went if you try it.