Lemon Amaretti Biscotti

Crispy on the outside, lovely and soft on the inside and bursting with lemon flavour - it can only be Lemon Amaretti Biscotti!! Amaretti biscotti originate from Saranno, a city just north of Milan and have been around for hundreds of years. They’re very popular all over Italy and are a great accompaniment for your morning espresso. This recipe uses ground almonds instead of flour so they’re naturally gluten-free too. 

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Makes: 25 to 30 amaretti
Ingredients 
2 egg whites
A pinch of salt 
250g caster sugar 
250g almond flour
The zest of ½ a lemon
½ a tsp of vanilla extract  
2 tbsp of lemon juice
30 unpeeled almonds 

For the final coating:
3 tbsp of icing sugar  
3 tbsp of caster sugar 

Method

1. In a large bowl add the egg whites along with a pinch of the salt and whisk them with an electric whisk until they get nice and stiff.
2. Now add the caster sugar, almond flour, vanilla extract and the lemon zest. With a wooden spoon stir it well all together until it forms a dough that is a bit sticky and tacky to the touch but still it holds well all together. Lastly, add the lemon juice and give it a quick mix with your hands to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Cover and set aside. 
3. Preheat the oven to 170 C fan so that it's ready for baking and prepare 2 oven trays with baking paper. Get ready 2 bowls for the amaretti coating, one with 3 tbsp of icing sugar  and one with 3 tbsp of caster sugar. 
4. Now shape all of the amaretti dough into 25-30 little walnut size balls and coat each amaretto ball first with the caster sugar, then with the icing sugar.
5. Remove the excess of the icing sugar by slightly rolling each amaretto ball between your hands, like if you were reshaping them into a ball one more time. At the end they should have just a fine coating of icing sugar. 
6. Place them on the baking tray, leaving about 3cm of space between each one and press an unpeeled almond on top of each amaretto. Press the almond all the way through until you start seeing the dough cracking around. 
7. Bake for 13-15 mins at 170 C fan. Leave them to rest and cool down for 5 minutes and enjoy! Or let them cool down completely before moving them into a sealed jar. They will stay fresh for up to a week. 

watch the recipe video

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