Pistachio amaretti

Hi all. I’m publishing this post from Paris!!!

After my recent semifreddo post I still have a few things up my sleeve whilst on a bit of an Italian tangent. One of them is amaretti, a delectable meringue based cookie that’s not only easy to make but delicious to boot. Interestingly, when I put amaretti into Google translate from Italian to English it gives me “macaroon” (like our coconut macaroon). There’s also amaretti morbidi which translates to “soft macaroon”. If I translate macaron from Italian to French, Italian to English, French to Italian, English to either French or Italian it all comes out as macaron. Curious, eh?

Let’s just say that the word “macaroon” for me will forever mean the coconut one that many Americans know and love. Otherwise “macaron” goes for anything almond-meringue-y-like, whether it be French, Italian or some other nationality.

Amaretti’s ingredients are indeed very similar to those of French macarons, the ever popular colorful sandwich treats, save for the fact they contain a bit of wheat flour in addition to almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites and nuts. The process is less fussy than the classic macaron and the batter comes together quickly. No resting times or waiting or special mixing methods. I like that.

Here’s a bit of back story.

One of my favorite books

I purchased this book back in March, 2010 while I was in Paris for a month or so. I was taking French language classes at L’Alliance Français, attended a croissant class at Le Notre, went to Mulhouse to visit my friend Misato, attended the civil ceremony for friend Val’s marriage - all good stuff. That was the year of the volcanic eruption in Iceland - my return home was delayed a few days so I was able to tack on a day trip to Giverny (lovely!) and a small group tour of a well known Paris pastry shop showing us the ins and outs of macaron making. Sometimes it pays to have travel plans change!

What attracted me to the book was not only the inclusion of assortments of petite treats (love ‘em all!) like choux, tartelettes, sablés, meringues and small cakes such as moelleux and financiers but also instructions/patterns for making your own boxes (I loved shopping at BHV in their craft/paper department).

A lovely assortment of biscuits from the book’s pages

My notes on a number of the recipes I tested indicate that I had made these pistachio amaretti (as well as the box to contain them) to take along to a celebration at Val’s parents’ home after the civil ceremony. Even though the book is in French, the amaretti are truly Italian in nature.

The page in question

Here’s the process: in a medium bowl blend 150 g / 1.5 cups confectioner’s sugar, 100 g / 1 cup almond flour, 30 g / 1 ounce either lightly toasted/cooled, chopped pistachios or crushed sliced almonds and 50 g / slightly mounded 1/3 cup all purpose flour.

In a separate bowl whisk two large egg whites to soft peaks then fold gently into the above ingredients in 2-3 additions. While the recipe calls for blending in a tablespoon of pistachio paste, I added just a bit of extra ground pistachios instead - it worked just fine. As you see below, the batter is rather rough and tumble.

Scoop small boules onto a parchment lined sheet pan - I use a tablespoon sized scoop - and roll in additional confectioner’s sugar. Yield should be around 25-30 small cookies.

Press a pistachio half in the center of each cookie.

Bake at 300º F for about 20 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.

Let cool and enjoy! They have a delightfully crisp exterior and chewy interior. They’ll be fine in a container in the fridge for a number of days, although I tend to freeze them and pop out a few to enjoy when the mood strikes. They’ll remain very happy in there for several weeks.

I’ll be back again in a while - enjoy autumn!

florist shop sidewalk display in Paris

Ricciarelli

A classic Sienese almond meringue cookie, these gluten free treats are delicious and straight forward in their preparation. Some say the name comes from the fact that the cookies are shaped to resemble grains of rice (riso in Italian), although I’ve also read it comes from the Italian word riccio which translates to hedgehog. Who knows!?

Historically made for the Christmas holiday season, over time they have become so popular that they can be found year round. Steve and I first discovered them on a trip to Italy back in the late 90s and not only loved their flavor and texture but their shelf life as well.

Made with almond flour, confectioners sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, lemon or orange zest and vanilla and almond extracts, they require just a couple of bowls, a hand mixer with whisk (or stand mixer if you prefer), spatula, bowl scraper and your hands. Have the egg whites at room temperature - they whip better that way.

Here’s the recipe. I use a large bowl to blend together 250 g almond flour, 250 confectioner’s sugar and the zest of one orange (or two lemons, or a mix!). Place 85 g / about 3 large egg whites in a medium bowl along with 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Start whipping on low-medium speed until they get foamy, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract then increase speed and whip to stiff peaks (kind of like that dacquoise I showed you recently).

Stiff peaks!

Now blend the whipped whites into the almond flour/confectioners sugar mix. You’ll be knocking the air out of the meringue - that’s OK. It will be like a paste. Once blended, form a rough oblong and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night.

The next day, when ready to proceed, remove the paste from the fridge; dust your work surface generously with confectioner’s sugar and roll the paste into a 5 cm (~2 inch) diameter log.

I made a double batch of paste for an upcoming demo so what you see below are two single quantities of paste. Make sure the log is well coated with confectioner’s sugar.

Slice the log into 12 cm (1 inch) wide discs, continuing to dust with confectioners sugar to prevent sticking. Form each disc into a sort of rice grain shape and place them on parchment lined sheet pans.

Dust with more confectioner’s sugar then set the pan(s) aside and let the cookies dry for 1-2 hours, uncovered and at room temperature.

Heat your oven to 300ºF. They’re ready to bake when you push on the edge with your fingertip and feel some resistance with the paste starting to crack.

Dried

Bake for 5 minutes, increase the oven temp to 350ºF and bake an additional 10 minutes. The cookies should crack during baking, showing golden cracks amongst the powdered sugared surfaces.

Let cool fully on the sheet pans then store in a covered container for up to a week.

Try ‘em, you’ll love ‘em!