Chocolate–Hazelnut Amaretti
Photo: Sam A Harris
Ingredients
- 140g/1 cup hazelnuts
- 70g/½ cup blanched almonds
- 2g/1 tsp ground ginger
- 1g/½ tsp espresso powder
- 120g/½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1–2g/¼–½ tsp flaky sea salt
- 40g/1 ½ oz dark chocolate
- 60g/2 egg whites
- 50g/6 Tbsp powdered sugar, to roll
Method
These squishy, crunchy cookies make wonderful gifts. You can bake them until they’re crunchy or keep them soft—both are perfect. You can use pre-ground nuts for this recipe if you don’t have a food processor.
—2025 James Beard Award Winner® Nicola Lamb, Sift: The Elements of Great Baking
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Blitz the nuts in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add the ginger, espresso powder, sugar, salt, and dark chocolate and whiz until it is all finely ground. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add the egg whites and mix together until a dough forms. Let rest for 10 minutes for the liquid to absorb.
3. Divide the dough into 18–20 pieces and roll into golf ball-size balls (20–25g/3/4–1 oz). Roll in the powdered sugar, then place on the lined baking sheets, pinching with your fingers to create indents. You can also roll them into little crescent shapes—this dough feels (and looks) like play dough. You can also leave in a ball shape.
4. Bake the amaretti for 12–14 minutes, until they have puffed up and cracked and are golden around the edges (but still soft inside). You can also bake them until completely hard, around 25 minutes, if desired.
5. Let cool completely on the baking sheets. Keep in an airtight container for up to 10 days.
Reprinted from Sift. Copyright © 2024 by Nicola Lamb. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Sam A Harris. Illustrations copyright © 2024 by Nueker. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/ Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Yield
18-20 amaretti