While I am dreaming of a white Xmas – which, let’s face it does not look likely – I have decided to make myself a tray of snow-covered cookies instead π . They are my eggless take on the famous Italian almond cookies amaretti morbidi, except that morbidi does not mean what you probably think it does. It simply means ‘soft’ as, like their traditional counterparts, they are soft and chewy on the inside and a touch crispy on the outside. Heaven! Especially with a cup of good black coffee!
Traditionally these almond cookies rely heavily on eggs, but the longer I am a vegan chef (although I never tend to think of myself as such, I am simply a fussy π amateur cook who enjoys a bit of creative tinkering), the more I am convinced that anything non-vegans can eat, we can eat too.
In this recipe, my trusted old friend aquafaba has done all the heavy lifting and while it’s been ages since I had the original version, I honestly don’t think anyone would be able to tell that these are vegan. Once I refined the recipe, I was thrilled with how they came out and they are now officially part of my Xmas cookie repertoire. They also make a gorgeous Xmas present and I could bet that the recipient would think that you got them in some fancy Italian deli in town.
- 200 g / 2 cups almond flour*
- 125 g / Β½ cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Β½ tsp baking powder
- 75 ml / ΒΌ cup + 1 tbsp aquafaba*
- Β½ tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- Β½ tsp vanilla paste or extract
- Β½ tsp almond extract
- icing sugar, to coat (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 175Β° C / 350Β° F and line a large baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the almonds, sugar and baking powder.
- Place the aquafaba (use only 60 ml / ΒΌ cup if using amaretto*) and lemon juice in a spotlessly clean bowl – even the tiniest grease residue will inhibit the aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks.
- Whip the aquafaba with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form – you need to be able to invert the bowl over your head and the mixture should not move at all.
- Gently fold in 2 tbsp of whipped aquafaba into the mixture and then fold the rest in gently.
- Add Amaretto (if using), vanilla paste and almond extract. Mix really well.
- Form the mixture into balls (I made fifteen 26 g / 0.9 oz balls) and roll them in the icing sugar.
- Place the cookies on the prepared baking tray, making sure you leave enough space between them. You can leave them as they are, or gently flatten them a little with your palm. The former look cuter (I think), but the latter get a crispier shell once baked.
- Bake for about 17 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and cracked in places. Allow them to cool completely to crisp up and become less fragile.
- Store them in an airtight jar for up to 5 days.
*You can add a dash of amaretto liqueur like Disaronno for more flavour. If you do, replace 1 tbsp (15 ml) of aqauafaba with 1 tbsp (15 ml) or amaretto. Do not add amaretto until step 6.
This recipe may be the closest Iβll ever get to recreating her amaretti! Thank you for that :) itβs nice to have these family traditions live on, in a vegan form!
For anyone without a mixer, use double the aquafaba and lemon and put it in a food processor. Then just use half for the recipe. It is much better than whipping by hand.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Almond extract enhances the flavour of almonds so skipping it will make the flavour less intense. Perhaps you could add more vanilla extract or a drop of lemon or orange extract (or some zest) to compensate. Hope this helps! Ania
It sounds like something must have gone wrong. Perhaps your aquafaba have deflated? You simply mix in very gently, the same way you would if you were using whipped egg whites which are used in traditional amaretti. Ania
I made these today (theyβre kosher for Passover!) and first of all, they are delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Mine seem to had a different consistency than yours- they were very sticky, not stable enough to bowl. Had to scoop them using two spoons into the powdered sugar, and once they were covered with powdered sugar they were easier to bowl.
In the oven they flattened , not super flat but not pretty little balls like yours :)
Also, donβt know if that related but the aqua faba took like 15 minutes to whip! My arm died hah ;) itβs home made aqua faba if that makes a difference.
I love them regardless, but do you have any idea what went wrong? Thanks!!!
I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed these - happy Passover! Sounds like you were brave (or crazy ;) ) enough to beat the aquafaba by hand? with a wire whisk? My hat off to you, but it sounds like your aquafaba wasn't quite stiff enough, which is why the cookies weren't forming easily and flattened more than mine. I use a Β£7 (so not professional at all) electric whisk and it takes me about 5-7 minutes of solid whipping to get to stiff peaks. Having said that sounds like your hand-whipped version is not very far off. Stay safe and keep baking :) x Ania
I understand that white icing sugar is not vegan (filtered through bone char). What did you use for this recipe? I'm investigating raw caster sugar.
cannot wait to try these!
As for as I know there is no difference and here is what Google says on the subject: Almond meal and almond flour are both finely ground almonds and there is no official difference between the two products. The terms can be used interchangeably. ... Almond meal can be blanched (skins removed) or unblanched, while most products labeled almond flour are blanched. I hope that helps and that you'll enjoy these. x Ania
Been meaning to write to THANK YOU for your awesome recipes. I didn't think I would get round to baking before Christmas this year but you inspired me THREE times over. I made the Amaretti (new family favourite), the Gingerbread which worked out fabulously although my icing wasn't near as pretty as yours and the Florentines which got oodles of compliments. I may have directed a few people onto your Insta page and website. So THANK you again for all your inspiring food ideas π
my friends loved the gift! They were delicious (tasted what sticked to the tray:)
The end result was different from yours because I changed the sugar, I used raw cane sugar, and the hazelnuts were not super fine like a flour.
So mine spreaded like crazy in the oven. The aquafaba was whipped to stiff picks but I had the impression that maybe I should have reduced it a bit (I used the liquid from a jar of precooked chickpeas).
It ended up being like a croccante/brutti ma buoni. I will make them again.
Thank you, xo!
Silvi
I am so glad that your friends enjoyed them. I would say that hazelnuts not being super finely ground had probably impacted these the most, hope they will be even nicer next time. x Ania
I am making a vegan version of this for our Christmas dinner https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/mushroom-and-squash-vegetarian-wellington/ I have been making it for the last few years, and I think it is delicious. Going to do your roasted sprout and cranberry recipe as one of the sides.
Thanks again. Happy Christmas
xoxo
I would love to gift these cookies to some frineds. I have a lot of roasted hazelnuts and I was wondering if I could follow the recipe swapping the almonds. The hazelnut version would resemble a vegan version of 'brutti ma buoni' the traditional cookies from Piemonte.
I think I will attempt tomorrow and see how it goes:)
Baci e buon Natale
Silvi
I'm really pleased to hear that you enjoyed these. I know what you mean but these are soft amaretti and the ones you are after are hard amaretti - you may be ok by baking them in a low oven (say 150Β°C / 300Β°F) for half an hour or so but I haven't tried that so I cannot be sure. Ania
I made it twice so far: first time exactly as written, and a second time without whipping the aquafaba.
Instead of whipping I whisked all the liquids first, added the sugar and whisked again, then finally mixed in the almond flour and baking powder. There was almost no difference in texture, and much less work and dirty dishes - a big plus in my book!
I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed my recipe. I have tried making them without whipping at the time, but I preferred the texture of the ones where AF was whipped first. You've inspired me to do another test though as a simpler recipe is definitely a better sell. Thank you for letting me know the outcome of your experiment. Ania
These look delicious! Have you tried freezing them? I would like to give them as Christmas gifts but I would need to make them at least a week in advance.
Thanks,
Rachel x
I haven't tried freezing these, I'm afraid, but I'm guessing that freezing them raw (prior to baking) and then baking closer to the time would yield best results. Hope that helps! Ania
I love this recipe! Mine came out almost perfect - just a tad too sweet for my family's tastes. Would you recommend adding more almond meal if I were to put less sugar?
Thank you so much!
Thanks :)
Thanks,
Dan
I have made many recipes with aquafaba and I have never needed to use cream of tartar. I do use a small amount of acid (lemon juice or apple cider vinegar usually) to stablise the aquafaba, but it isn't necessary either. It just takes a bit longer to whip it up to stiff peaks without the stabliser in my experience. Hope that helps! Ania
Why? Aquafaba?
Anyway the taste of amretti is always good so am gonna eat them as soon as they cool .
Thanks for Your answer.
The only way to increase amaretto flavour is to sub some aquafaba for more amaretto, which is certainly worth trying but I have not tried it myself. Hope that helps! Ania
They look great! Can they be made with a different egg substitute? Flaxseed eggs or something like that?
Thanks
I don't think so but if you feel like experimenting you might prove me wrong :) Ania