Dom’s favorite cookie is Italian Almond Paste. So it was a very happy day when our resident Cookie Monster was treated to these almond based cookies.
I had the unique pleasure of meeting the woman who created this special recipe. Her name is Maria Filice and she is a woman after my own heart. Maria published her beautiful cookbook, Breaking Bread in L’Aquila, a few short years ago. This trattoria-style recipe book introduces readers to the incredibly tasty flavors of L’Aquila, Italy. It offers homey, yet elegant, straightforward recipes which spoil our palates as well as our eyes. This book is stunning. Her food styling, exquisite. It’s easy to imagine sitting at her dining table where warmth and hospitality are served up right along side the bread and wine. This book invites you in from page one, and beckons you to stay to the very end. Which reminds me…and maybe you guys can relate…we have this thing in our family, we call it the “Italian Goodbye”. We spend an hour at the door saying bye, after having visited all night. This book catches you in the same way – once you pick it up, it’s difficult to part, until you absolutely have to.
Maria and I met at a Women TIES event. I had the good fortune of being seated next to her for the lunch program. We had the chance to chat and I was surprised to discover that we both have ancestors that came from the same province in the Calabria region of Italy…Cosenza. Is it a small world or what?! I was seated directly next to my paisano…
I’m very excited to try the recipes in this book, however, it was the Amaretti Cookie or Biscotti Amaretti, as it’s also called, that I needed to begin with!
It’s always nice to have a little homemade treat in the house when we can. A little something to have with our coffee, tea or espresso.
This recipe fits that bill.
The other thing you may appreciate is it’s a cookie that is both lactose and gluten-free.
So it’s good any way you slice it!
So the next time you’re seated next to someone you’ve never met – strike up that conversation – you just might be related! Hey – it could happen!
Buon Appetito!
Ciao!
Print
Amaretti Cookies
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 3 cups almonds (with skins), plus an additional 36 whole almonds
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, spread on a plate (for rolling)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a food processor, pulse the 3 cups of almonds until they are finely ground.
- In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and almond extract.
- Add the ground nuts and gently fold them together until you have a moist mixture that you can form into balls.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop up the batter and form balls, and then roll them in the confectioner’s sugar.
- Place the balls at least an inch apart on the greased baking sheet.
- Prior to baking, press one almond into each ball.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden in color and firm to the touch.
- Let them cool before removing them from the baking sheets.
*Recipe from Maria Filice.
Thank you Annie for sharing your wonderful story with your readers. I am in the business of connecting women who can help and benefit from working together. I love when inspiration is shared between my members in different regions of the state. This blog post is a perfect testimonial to fantastic women like you and Maria who have open hearts and minds to work with other women. Thank you for making my day and making me crave these cookies.
Thank you, again, for the work that you do! Women TIES creates wonderful opportunities for women to inspire and empower other women to go out and ‘fight the good fight’! I love it!
Just yum…can move into your house please?
Sweeta…I would have made these long ago if I knew that’s all it would take! Thanks, pal!