Soft Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies
Normally I wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving to start baking holiday cookies. There are so many delicious fall treats to enjoy, why rush into the holiday season? But last weekend I was having SUCH a craving for gingerbread that I couldn’t wait. Last Christmas I made Love and Olive Oil’s Soft Amaretti Cookies, and they were DIVINE. So this year I tweaked those deliciously chewy cookies to make a gingerbread version, and oh boy are they tasty. Say hello to Soft Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies!
History of Amaretti Cookies
Amaretti cookies are a traditional Italian dessert that can be traced as far back as the 17th century. They are known not only for their flavor but also for the beautifully decorated tins they are sold in. (Fun fact: there is an archive of past amaretti tins kept in a 14th-century Franciscan church in Saronno.)
Classic amaretti cookies are a simple combination of ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, and can be flavored with a variety of extracts, spices, or liqueurs. There are two types of amaretti cookies: amaretti croccanti—a crispy, crunchy cookie; and amaretti morbidi—a soft and chewy cookie. This recipe is for the latter.
Gingerbread + Soft Amaretti Cookies = A New Holiday Favorite
The traditional amaretti cookie is flavored with bitter almond (or, in lieu of that, almond extract). If you’re an almond fan you MUST try them that way—they’re a soft, chewy, marzipan-flavored treat. But if you’re not an almond fan, or if you just want to try something different, you have a wealth of flavor options to choose from.
Amaretti can be spiked with just about any flavor you like. Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil offers three options beyond the traditional almond—chocolate, raspberry, and matcha. You can find her original recipe here, and recipes for the other three flavors are linked at the bottom of that page.
I think adding a bit of orange zest and subbing orange flower water for the almond extract could be delicious as well. Or try any other extract in place of the almond. These cookies are a great canvas for your favorite tastes.
For this recipe, I opted to replace the almond extract with a bit of molasses, then added cinnamon, ginger, and cloves for a distinctly Christmassy treat. The result is a soft, chewy, gingerbready dream. And with no rolling and cutting of dough to deal with, they are much quicker and easier to make than traditional gingerbread cookies.
And an added plus for those of you who are avoiding gluten? Amaretti cookies are naturally gluten free! So if you’re in that boat and find yourself missing the scent and flavor of gingerbread cookies around the holidays, these could be a good substitute for you.
These cookies are relatively easy to make, will stay soft for several days, and are sturdy enough to travel well if you’re considering shipping treats to your loved ones this year. They’ll make for a unique addition to your holiday treat platter or cookie swap as well.
Looking for More Holiday Treats?
I’ll post a couple more new holiday recipes over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, give these a try:
- Gingerbread Granola
- Sour Cream Sugar Cookies (my Grandma’s recipe and my very first blog post!)
- Chai Spice Snickerdoodles
- Biscotti
- Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Mint Snowball Cookies
- Irish Coffee Truffles
- Meringues
Happy Baking, and Happy Holidays!
Soft Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 c almond flour, sifted
- 1 c granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp molasses
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Stack two similarly-sized cookie sheets on top of one another, and line with parchment paper (this helps keep the bottoms of the cookies from browning too much – if you don't have two cookie sheets, you don't have to stack them. Just bake on a higher rack and/or keep a close eye on the cookies as they bake to watch for browning.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together sifted almond flour, sugar, salt, and spices until fully combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), whisk egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add beaten egg whites and molasses to the almond flour mixture, and mix well until a sticky dough forms. If it gets difficult to mix, use your hands to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.
- Using a small cookie scoop or your hands, form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar and place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until tops are cracked and bottoms are beginning to brown (if you're not using a doubled-up cookie sheet, they may bake faster – check at 25 minutes).
- Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
5 Comments
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback:
Pingback: