Friday, June 26, 2009

Pinoli Amaretti (Italian Almond Macaroons Rolled in Pine Nuts)



These little macaroons are quite easy to make, but you must leave the egg whites uncovered on the counter all day. I know this sound scary, but trust me. By doing this the egg whites will have evaporated out some of the water, ensuring your cookies will be chewy and perfectly puffed.

I set the egg whites out at breakfast and made the Pinoli Amaretti in the late afternoon. You could also leave the egg whites out before bed, and throw the cookies together in the morning.

These go great with a cup of espresso, and I’ve been drinking a lot of it today as an excuse to eat more cookies!

Ingredients
4 egg whites
1 ½ pounds almond paste, broken into pieces (not marzipan)
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups pine nuts

Instructions
1. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Leave the whites on the counter uncovered for several hours or overnight. Refrigerate and reserve the yolks for another use. (I suggest ice-cream!)

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a stand mixer combine egg whites, almond paste, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Mix on low to combine, and then on medium speed for 3 minutes.

4. Place some of the pine nuts in a small bowl and replenish as needed.

5. Scoop the dough using a size 60 cookie scoop (or enough dough to make two teaspoons), and roll in the pine nuts. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

6. Bake one sheet at a time for 16 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Slide the parchment paper with the cookies on it onto the counter. Let the cookies cool completely then gently pull them off the parchment.

7. Store in a covered container.

Makes about 80 cookies.

Notes: A size 60 cookie scoop is smaller than a standard size 50 cookie scoop. I found mine in my local kitchen store. They are often advertised as mini cookie scoops.

Recipe by Laura Flowers


17 comments:

Marta said...

Laura! I'm so glad you give the eggwhite-drying tip, it's the ultimate secret! these are my mom's favourite. Seriously, the tiny, curly-haired Italian woman she is can eat her own weight in these bad boys!
Yours look great :)

The Cooking Photographer said...

Thanks Marta.

They are my favorite too.

I think I ate too many...

Risa said...

These sound just perfect! I have never tried a recipe like this and definitely want to.

Ginger said...

MS..Mrs..Miss... Laura Flowers Well what can I say?? I am happy to have a minute to blog my favorite blogs!! PERFECT photos and perfect recipe. I sure wished we lived closer so I could send some stuff over your way to have pictures taken!!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Despite all my years of cooking, I'd never heard of the egg white trick. I'll have to give it a try.

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Delish... I love amaretti!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Just read the directions... I have no fear of leaving the whites out, but I've never seen a recipe call for that either. Okay... if you say so! :)

La Table De Nana said...

I think we like MANY of the same things!Never heard of the drying tip..

Too back I don't stock almond paste!
The punch of blue in this photos is perfect.

Creative Classroom Core said...

I love how they are coated in the pin nuts - they look like little porcupines! Love this!

Deeva said...

Yummy, yummy, yummy!!! I want that espresso cup and saucer, very cute.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Looks delish!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Thank-you for the comments!

Heather S-G said...

They are so refined and tempting... :) Thanks for the tip, I would love some of these with my morning coffee.

Jamie said...

Great egg white tip! We Frenchies aren't afraid of leaving things out for ever so long!

I have so wanted to make Amaretti so thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious and so perfect!

raf said...

Regarding the counter-sitting egg whites... I guess any bacteria that have developed will be killed while the cookies bake, but have you tried leaving the egg whites uncovered in the fridge?

Most food seems to dry out in my fridge, so I would assume egg whites could evaporate in there as well...

The Cooking Photographer said...

I bet that would work just fine. Thank-you for the tip!

Laura

raf said...

I guess the only precaution would be to make sure there are no smells in your fridge, or the egg whites could pick up that taste.

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