When you have a lot of leftover egg whites, from say, making ice cream, this is a crunchy and sweet cookie to make with them, and they go well with the ice cream.
Ingredients (makes 24 cookies)
- 2 egg whites
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- icing sugar to dust over cookies
Instructions for Amaretti Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whip egg whites with until foamy.
While whipping add half of the sugar (1/3 cup) gradually to egg whites. Whip to stiff peaks. If using an electric mixer, whip at less than the top speed of the mixer for best results. If using a hand cranked mixer, change cranking hands often and mix until the mixer will not turn anymore!
Sift half of the sugar (1/3 cup), flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon over top of the ground almonds (do not try to sift the ground almonds). Add lemon zest and stir to combine.
Stir the egg whites into the dry ingredients (they will deflate quite a bit). Add almond extract.
With wet hands roll small amounts of the mixture into balls and place on baking sheets. Re-wet hands often, these will be sticky! Sift small amounts of icing sugar over top of each cookie, this will make the outside of the cookies crunchy.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until cookies are lightly browned. Allow to cool before consuming.