Amaretti di Saronno

[itryalot]

I love these and they are hard to get where I live; anyone have a recipe for similar flavour and texture?

[itryalot]

I am resurrecting this post in the hopes that this much later, some genius baker has come close to creating these little gems.
Where is an online (legal) place you can buy apricot kernels? I hear they may be illegal only in some states and need to be toasted before use.

[tmso]

If you want to make them traditionally, you'll need to use a couple bitter almonds, which are not commercially available in the US -- these are a variety of almond, not apricot pits. The hydrogen cyanide will cook off during the baking of the cookies.

However, when in the US I was able to make a perfectly fine version from local ingredients. "Pure almond extract" is made from bitter almonds, but with the cyanide removed/destroyed. I'll give a sketch of the recipe here; no measurements because, well, I don't often measure things.

Dry whole sweet almonds in a low oven, 3/4 with their skins on (to add bitterness), 1/4 having removed the skins. Be careful not to toast or burn them (they should be white inside). Pulse them in a food processor to get an almond meal of the right consistency. Add almond extract to your very fine white sugar, mix thoroughly, then mix into the almond meal. Bind with egg whites, using just enough so you can work the mixture into balls that stay firmly together. Roll into 1-2 inch balls, place on parchment-lined trays, and bake in a slow oven until they're completely 100% dried out. Be careful not to burn any of the oils. Let them come up to room temperature, and keep them well sealed (they suck moisture out of the air).

[itryalot]

Thanks all. I have tried a plethora of cookies from a variety of recipes and none come close. It must be those darn apricot kernels; I have never even seen any or heard of them before trying to find a recipe.

[AnneInMpls]

I asked this same question, and got a few links to some GREAT recipes. But they're not the same as real Amaretti.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/285291

You can mail-order the real cookies. Note that the cookies in a bag (scroll down to the third-from-last post) are cheaper than the ones in a tin, but they don't have the sugar crystals on top.

Anne

[amyzan]

I frequently find Lazzaroni amaretti at TJMaxx. They're fresh and usually 25-50% off retail. I stock up on them, and store them in a tin.

[Cheese Boy]

Scroll to see five recipes on this page ... http://www.allfoodrecipes.net/a.shtml

Amaretti
Amaretti Cookies
Amaretti Cookies # 2
Amaretti Cookies # 3
Amaretti Cookies # 4

A Google search for "Biscotti Amaretti" will produce some results as well.

[maria lorraine]

That link doesn't work. This one does but it's only one recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amaretti...

[itryalot]

I did get to that link, and tried them. Good but not the same. The originals use apricot kernels or something similar. I didn't get that crackling top either. I must go out and buy the sugar that is needed for that. I topped mine with green candied cherries. I must be picky because when I brought them to work, they disappeared.

[maria lorraine]

Dear Try,
I tried your link again today, and again No Go.
In fact, the notation on the page says "This Account Has Been Suspended."
Please try again. Please list a working link. I love amaretti!
Thanks, ML

[Cheese Boy]

ML, here's what a google search yielded. Unfortunately,
it looks like another GREAT site just bit the dust.

Pooey ---> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&am...

[maria lorraine]

For the THIRD time, and at the tenth try (don't say I'm not tenacious!), the allrecipes.net site is DOWN, gone, suspended for non-payment, kaput, kablooey. Your link led to four links and all of them are down. There was even a Chowhound link that led to the allrecipes.net link. Again, the link is down. The bus has left.They don't make that brand anymore. The species is extinct. You can't get there from here.

Sorry, Try, meant to address my 2nd post to Cheese Boy, not you.

[ElsieDee]

Maria - go to Google and type in the following (without the quotation marks):
"site:www.allfoodrecipes.net allfoodrecipes Amaretti"

At the base of each paragraph/search result are two options, one is to view a cached version of the page and the other is to view similar pages. Click on the "Cached" link. You will be taken to a text-only version of the webpage showing the recipe.

For example, if the above directions make any sense, the first result you'll get will be for the Amaretti Cookies - clicking on the "cached" version of the page will take you to this link:

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:X...

And the recipe on that page will read as follows:

Amaretti Cookies

Servings: 1

4 Tablespoons Meringue powder
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Lemon rind, grated
1 Cup Raw almonds, ground fine

Recipe by: Tampa Bay Online Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix meringue powder and water. Whip until stiff. Combine remaining ingredients; fold gently into whipped meringue. When thoroughly combined, break off small pieces of dough and roll into balls. Flatten them so they look like thick discs and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Note: Check cookies at 25 minutes and watch closely so they don't get too brown. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Hope this helps - if not, let me know and I'll see if I can copy/paste some of the other recipes here.

[Cheese Boy]

Maria Lorraine, try the original link (Mar 25, 2007) NOW. Apparently, they have magically returned and are back in business. Take a look at the five recipes on that page there. Maybe you'll like one. ; > )

[maria lorraine]

Cheese Boy, thanks. I saw the recipes. Question: I know the almond liqueur is called
Amaretto di Saronno but are the cookies called Amaretti (plural) di Saronno?

[Cheese Boy]

Maria, singular is Biscotto Amaretto ...
Plural is Biscotti Amaretti di Saronno.

Hence: http://www.ditalia.com/subcategory.as...

[maria lorraine]

Well-done, Cheese Boy. The Lazzaroni are my favorite. Do you know which
allrecipes.net recipe comes closest to theirs? Thanks again.

[Cheese Boy]

I really don't know which comes closest.
I wouldn't want to mislead anybody.

[AnneInMpls]

Gotcha on the singular/plural, but me, I'm confused about Saronno.

I thought that "Saronno" was a brand of Amaretto liqueur (there's a bottle in my cupboard called Amaretto di Saronno, and I once had a bottle of Lazzaroni Amaretto, which was almost as good).

I thought that the cookies were just called amaretti, but if you make them with the Saronno brand of Amaretto, I suppose they could be called amaretti di Saronno.

But I don't speak Italian and I don't know the history of the cookies, so I could be way off.

Anne

[maria lorraine]

Anne, FWIW...
Here's what Wikipedia says [granted, not the most accurate source]:
"Almonds became a favored component in Italian food and drink as Arab-Sicilian influence spread over the peninsular mainland, inspiring innovations. The concept reached all the way to the north of Italy, including the region of Lombardy, in which a municipality named Saronno would become famous for its almond-infused liqueur. In many regions, particularly these northernmost ones, distinct local varieties of amaretto biscotti developed. Amaretti di Sassello, unique to Liguria, are very soft and moist, like marzipan. Amaretti di Saronno, at the other end of the spectrum with a crunchy, crisp texture, became associated with the liqueur of the same town and therefore the most prominent style."

[AnneInMpls]

Thanks, Maria! I now understand Amaretti di Saronno. And I realize that I need to plan a trip to Lombardy and Liguria so I can try both styles of amaretti.

Anne

[itryalot]

Yes, Maria they are called Amaretti di Saronno. If you do a google web or image search, you can see they are beautifully wrapped in thin printed paper, and the recognizable red tins are lovely too.

[maria lorraine]

Oh, I've eaten and served a ton of Lazzaroni amaretti, put a match to the tissue wrapping so it flies aloft like an angel, even coveted a big red Lazzaroni tin till I realized I had no place to put it. I've never made them however, and would love
to come close to duplicating the Lazzaroni, hence my interest in this thread.