Amarettis

It never ceases to amaze me how a few simple ingredients transform into something amazing – it’s almost magic! A little bit of ground hazelnuts, some sugar, a little bit of egg whites some flavourings and a little bit of rolling and you’ve got yourself Hazelnut and Chocolate Amaretti. These flavour packed wonders has a hint of coffee and all the goodness of hazelnuts. Crispy crackly on the outside but remains chewy within, absolutely delicious and only possible when it’s homemade.

I love anything with nuts in it, and one of my all time favourites is homemade Amaretti Cookies. Amarettis are traditionally made of almonds and flavoured with almond liqueur Amaretto, which gives it the distinctive bitter almond flavour. And I was thinking, that it would also work with other nuts, like pistachios or hazelnuts, in this instance. I’m here to tell you, they are delicious and needless to say a new favourite. Coffee, hazelnuts and chocolate, what a combination! The coffee and chocolate enhances the hazelnut flavour.

What you need to make Chocolate Hazelnut Amaretti

Pantry – Egg Whites,Caster Sugar, Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)and instant Coffee powder.
Hazelnut Meal – These are now available from the major supermarkets, but if you can’t find them, process roasted hazelnuts in a food processor with a teaspoon of caster sugar and pulse until the texture of coarse sand. If gluten is not an issue, you can substitute 1/2 cup of the hazelnut meal with 1/2 cup of plain flour. This results in a much firmer cookies.
Optional Toppings – Mini White or Dark Chocolate Buttons or Hazelnut Spread like Nutella. If you are using Nutella as toppings, bake the cookies first, then fill when cookies are cool.

Easy does it…

Hazelnut Howto — Easy to make, easier to Eat

Whisk egg whites until soft peaks. Add caster sugar in three lots, whisking in between until the mixture is smooth glossy. Fold in hazelnut flour, vanilla paste cocoa powder and instant coffee then mix until just combined.Do not over mix.
Roll into balls about 2cm in diameter, roll in sugar then place in a baking tray lined with baking paper. The cookie dough will be sticky so you can use two teaspoons to shape the cookies( one to scoop and the other one to dislodge it into the sugar for coating) or use a small cookie scoop to portion. Use your finger to make a slight indent in the middle of each cookie, then place a chocolate button in the indented space. If using Nutella to top the cookies, bake the cookies first, then fill the indents when the cookies are cool.
Bake for about 12 minutes . Cool in the tray and store in airtight container. Will keep for a week or so, if you can resist them.