Name: Amaretti Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 3 large room temperature egg whites (from large eggs, 90 grams total); 3 cups almond flour; 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar; ¼ teaspoon sea salt; Zest of an orange or lemon; 2 teaspoons amaretto (or ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract); Icing sugar, for rolling

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Naturally gluten-free amaretti cookies are made with almond flour, egg whites, and sugar, for a sweet, slightly crisp, chewy, and light cookie. Our version includes orange or lemon zest and amaretto.

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Recipe Rundown: Amaretti Cookies

Prep Time
5 minutes

Baking Time
2 minutes

Total Time
7 minutes

Servings
12 rolls

Difficulty
Intermediate

Calories
356 kcal*

Primary Ingredients
Sourdough discard, yeast, all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, and eggs.

*Calories are an estimation.

How This Recipe Works

Woman smiling, with long brown hair in a dark brown shirt.

I've never been to Italy, but when I lived in Gothenburg there was an excellent Italian bakery with amaretti just down the street. I went there every week and it was the first time I had fresh-baked amaretti cookies - not from a package - and my goal with this recipe was to replicate that slightly soft, chewy cookie. They sometimes added orange zest and other spices like cardamom but a hint of citrus is perfect in an almond cookie.

Amaretti recipes do vary quite a lot, especially in regard to how much the egg whites should be beaten. I've been making them since I was a child and this is a middle-of-the-road version that is quite chewy and softer than many iterations, and we make them with amaretti or almond extract instead of bitter almond. It's not traditional, but they're much easier to find, and it tastes just as good. A little orange or citrus zest add brightness to the cookies and prevent them from being one-note. These are really great holiday cookies.

I developed and tested this recipe. Since amaretti are naturally dairy-free (I have a dairy allergy) I am a little less generous with giving them away, but did still distribute with taste-testers during the testing process. Despite amaretti being naturally quite sweet cookies, they were universally adored, even by people who usually don't like sweet desserts. My Italian testers gave them the stamp of approval, too!

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

The base ingredients are almond flour, egg whites, and sugar, but all of these ingredients are generally easy to find. These are our notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

Amaretti cookies ingredients with labels.

Almond flour: this must be almond flour, and not almond meal. If you use ground almonds from nuts that haven't been blanched, the texture will be too rough and the cookies will be more likely to crumble.
Sugar: use plain white granulated sugar. We don't recommend cane sugar or any other alternatives for this recipe. The dough needs the fine texture of plain granulated sugar.
Eggs: you'll need 3 egg whites, or 90 grams of egg white. The eggs should be at room temperature. There is no substitute for eggs in this recipe.
Icing sugar: also called powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar. This is to coat the cookies before baking, and it's what creates that signature crackle look. See chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies. If you skip rolling in icing sugar, the cookies will not only look different, but they'll also stick to the parchment paper after baking.
Extract: use amaretto or almond extract as outlined in the recipe card. We recommend pure almond extract if you go that route, and don't increase the amount!
Orange or lemon: the zest of an orange or lemon (or grapefruit, if you're feeling adventurous) is added to the dough for brightness. Use an organic unwaxed lemon for this, and wash well.
Salt: a pinch of salt helps to balance the sweetness, making the cookies more well-rounded.

How to Make Amaretti

You don't need a stand mixer for this recipe, but electric beaters are definitely helpful when beating egg whites to stiff peaks. You can mix by hand but you'll be doing it for a while.

Cookies steps 1 to 4, beaten egg whites, almonds added, mixed dough, and rolling in icing sugar.

Step 1: beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, either using the whisk attachment on a standing mixer or electric beaters. Stiff peaks mean that the egg whites don't slump when you stop mixing, and keep their shape entirely. If any fat or yolk has gotten into the mix, they eggs won't be able to increase enough in volume.

Step 2: add the almond flour, sugar, zest, extract, and salt. If you have a scale we highly recommend weighing the ingredients for this recipe, as too much almond flour will really cause problems and it's easy to use too much when measuring with cups.

Step 3: fold into the egg whites with a spatula. The egg whites will collapse and a firm, slightly stiff dough will form. It shouldn't be dry but it will feel stiff.

Step 4: roll the dough into small balls and roll in icing sugar before placing onto a lined baking sheet. We reuse our parchment paper until it falls apart, and that's why it's a bit crinkly in these pictures. It lasts for several rounds of cookies!

Related: Almond Biscotti

Cookies steps 5 to 8, rolled into balls, pressing with a thumb, before and after baking.

Step 5: repeat until all of the dough has been used. This recipe should make 28 cookies, and a large baking sheet will be big enough to fit all of them.

Step 6: use your thumb to press an indent into the centre of each cookie, pressing about halfway down. This flattens the cookies as they don't spread much while baking, and also adds the typical crinkled look of amaretti.

Step 7: repeat until all of the cookies have been pressed, then chill for 20 minutes and preheat the oven. Chilling for a few minutes will prevent the cookies from spreading and also improves flavour.

Step 8: bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes at a low temperature. Amaretti do rise in the oven and the cookies will mostly fill the indents, but there will be a small impression in each. These aren't meringues and don't need to be cooled slowly, so they can come out of the oven right away.

Related: Mexican Wedding Cookies

Crinkle cookies on a marble surface, one with a bite taken out of it.

Expert Tips for the Best Amaretti Cookies

Weigh the cookies: for precise cookie sizes, you can weigh each ball before rolling it in icing sugar. You can also use a cookie scoop.
Use a spoon if preferred: if you don't want to press the cookies with your thumb or fingertip, you can use a small measuring spoon to make the indents in the cookies instead, like we do for our sourdough thumbprint cookies.
Chill before baking: this prevents any spreading in the oven, helping the cookies to keep their shape more effectively.
Don't over-bake: these cookies are baked for a longer time at a lower temperature, to prevent too hard of an outer shell from forming. This method means that the cookies are delicate, with a very thin crisp outer layer and soft interior.