Laying somewhere in-between a meringue and a cookie. Amaretti biscuits are a light and delicious treat to keep in the biscuit tin.
They balance a strong black coffee perfectly.
Or try them crumbled over ice cream to offer a crisp contrast of texture.
Or even, as with most sweet treats in my kitchen, eaten on the hoof with a furtive glance to make sure no one’s watching.
However you choose to indulge in them, amaretti biscuits are definitely worth baking from scratch.
Not only are they really easy and fun to make. I think they look rather impressive too.
And a pretty tin chock full of them would make a wonderful gift for a foodie.

- 125 g ground almonds
- 125 g icing sugar
- 1 level tablespoon plain flour
- 2 egg whites
- 75 g caster sugar
- Preheat oven to 180/160 fan/350/gas 4
- Whisk egg whites until soft peaks have formed. Add the caster sugar a little at a time and keep whisking until you have a shiny and stiff mix.
- Fold in the ground almonds, icing sugar & flour just enough to combine ingredients but without overworking it.
- Scoop the mix into a piping bag and pipe 1-1.5" mounds onto a baking tray.
- Dip a finger into a glass of water and carefully tap the top of each mound to smooth it over.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a light golden brown.
- Switch the oven off but leave the amaretti in the oven with door slightly open until they are completely cool. This will keep them crisp and allow any moisture to evaporate.
Nayna Kanabar says
These look gorgeous and I love the photos.
Jane Sarchet says
Thank you Nayna :)
Janie x
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
The biscuits look fab, the pic is fab and the biscuit tin is fab. Bring some down to FBC5?
Jane Sarchet says
Do you really think they’d last a train journey from Cornwall to London Bintu??! Not a chance :D
Janie x
Louisa Foti says
I’ve been meaning to try making Ameretti biscuits too, yours look really very lovely Janie! Gorgeous tin too, I’d me mightily chuffed to receive these as a gift….
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Louisa! That tin is adorable. My Mum found it in a jumble sale for me, I think she paid all of 20p for it! :)
Janie x
Ren Behan says
Ooh my husbands favourite snack – have never considered making my own – could be perfect for Father’s Day with a nice bottle of Amaretto liqueur :-)
Jane Sarchet says
Aww, what a lovely idea!
Janie x
Julie's Family Kitchen says
Janie, you have inspired me to makes these lovely Amaretti biscuits. They look gorgeous. Hope mine look as good as yours.
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Julie! I hope you love them as much as Jonny and I did :)
Janie x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I love amaretti biscuits. And they are so versatile to use with other dishes to impart their gorgeous risk, nutty flavour. These look lovely!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Kate, they were delicious and real easy to make GF too!
Janie x
colouritgreen says
definitely have to give this a go – another use for egg whites… got to do something with the egg mountain!
Jane Sarchet says
Haha, I remember that feeling! I’m down to 5 hens now & it’s the perfect amount so I no longer get mountains :)
Enjoy!
Janie x
Tehila says
Thank you for the lovely idea but I think I have misunderstood the recipe because these cookies did not need 30-45 minutes in a 350 oven. They over-browned in 10. Turning the oven off and leaving them inside at this point left them almost charred. Is there perhaps a typo somewhere in the recipe?
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Tehila, I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you :(
I’m leaving early tomorrow morning to drive around Wales for a month so am going to remove the recipe from my blog until I get back and can work out what on earth went wrong. I’m so sorry that you wasted your ingredients, and thank you so much for letting me know.
Jane x