Our Pistachio Amaretti Cookies are chewy on the inside, lightly crisp on the outside, and packed with real pistachio flavour. Made with almond meal, crushed pistachios, egg whites and sugar, they’re naturally gluten-free and so simple to make. With just a few ingredients, these elegant little cookies are perfect for gifting, entertaining, or enjoying with an afternoon coffee. They’ve got that classic amaretti chew with a pistachio twist that makes them irresistible.
Pistachio Amaretti Cookies - Chewy, Nutty & Naturally Gluten-Free
Delicious Pistachio Amaretti Cookies
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Dessert
Cuisine
Mediterranean
Author:
Ashley’s Place
Servings
15
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Pistachio is one of my all time FAVOURITE flavours, put it in gelato in a cookie or a cream and I am eating it. And these classic cookies can be found at lots of Italian Bakeries around Australia too but I wanted to be able to make them whenever I wanted to I made my own at home and they do not dissapoint.
Ingredients
-
2 Egg Whites
-
120 Caster Sugar
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100g Almond Meal
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100g Shelled Pistachios Ground (*See Note 1)
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1 Tsp Almond Extract (*See Note 2)
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Approx. ½ Cup Icing Sugar Mixture (*See Note 3)
Directions
First you want to blitz up your pistachios, if you can find pre-ground one that’s great but I haven’t been able to so I made my own. Simple add your pistachios into a food processer and blitz for about 30 seconds to a minute. You want to just crush them into a finer crumb but don’t over blitz otherwise you will end up with a paste. Don’t worry if you have a few bigger bits its ok
Add all your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well together
Separate your egg whites in a separate bowl and whisk with your whisk for a about 30 seconds or so until you have a nice fluffy foam on top and then add in the Almond Extract and whisk again to make sure it all mixes nicely. Whisk for about another 30 seconds it will become nice and fluffy. We are just whisking a bit we don’t need to make hard peaks here like meringues (*See note 4)
Then add the egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix together well until its all combined. Cover and leave for an hour just on the bench is fine
About 20 minutes before the hour is up preheat your oven to 175°C and prep your tray with some baking paper
Pop the Icing Sugar Mixture into a bowl
Once your mix has been chilling on the bench for an hour it is time to roll them into small cookie balls. I use a a tsp and grab a heaped amount to roll into a ball and then pop into the Icing Mixture and cover the whole cookie. Then pop onto your tray, continue until all are rolled and leave a few cms bettween each
Once they are all rolled push the cookies down slightly you can use a fork I just use my fingers and then use your leftover icing to sift over the top of all the cookies. The pushing down and icing is how you get the cracks or that crinkled look
Bake away in the oven for 10 minutes they will have a very slight golden colour on the outside edges but very slight. We don’t want to overcook them
Leave them on the tray for about 8-10 mins to cool slightly before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks and you can freeze for about 3 months
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
FAQ's and Notes:
- I can't find ground pistachios here in Australia or at least where I have looked so I simply make my own. Just get shelled pistachios we don't want to blitz the shell on there as well. When blitzing don't over do it just blitz until its a nice fineish crumb which means its not big chunks, but you don't have to be too particular we just want it ground to mix in nicely with the cookies.
- Almond Extract or Essence you should be able to find in your local supermarket or deli/fruit shop. I personally think the ones from the fruit shop taste a bit nicer than the supermarket brand, it has a better flavour but if that's all you can find that's totally fine to use.
- Icing Sugar Mixture if you are in Aus is the CSR Brand the Pink one, if you are in the US you may call it powdered sugar or confectioners sugar. Pretty much it is what you use to make icing. We use approx. 1/2 a cup but if you need extra or use a but less it's ok
- Some amaretti cookies use meringue like texture with their eggs but personally I like it this way and it is easier to make, I learnt this method from my friend Vincenzo's Plate. But you really only need to mix it so it goes nice and bubbly and fluffy we don't need stiff peaks here at all. You can watch the video to see what I mean.
Q. Can I use Pistachio Flour or Meal?
A. Yes as long as it just ground pistachios only and not a super fine texture like fine flour.
Q. Can I make the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge to bake the next day?
A. Yes definitely you can do this just make sure you cover it in the fridge so it doesn't dry out and when you go to bake them if they are cold they may take an extra minute or two.