Dark Chocolate Amaretti Cookies

March 15, 2023

Amaretti cookies are wonderfully flavorful little treats with a uniquely light and chewy texture. Developed in Saronno, Italy in the early 1700’s, these simple cookies are made with egg whites, sugar and almond flour making them easy to bring together and and gluten-free!

Today, we are making a rich chocolate version of amaretti and I feel it only fair to warn you that they are highly addictive. Combining the chewy texture of a traditional amaretti cookie with bold chocolate flavors creates a subtly crunchy little bite sized brownie like bite that will keep you coming back for more.

Let’s get started…

We are going to start by whipping 3 large egg whites to stiff peaks. I know, I know… I told you that these cookies are simple to bring together and this is how we start? Well, whipping egg whites is not only super easy to do, but is one of the baking tasks with the biggest payoffs. Whipping air into egg whites brings a lightness to the texture of these cookies (and many other baked goods) that cannot be recreated any other way.

Simply add 3 large egg whites into a big, clean, dry bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip them into airy perfection. Begin on medium low speed and once the egg whites become full of tiny little bubbles, increase the speed to medium high and continue whipping until you get a stiff, shiny consistency that will hold its shape when you pull the whisk away. This does take a few minutes, so be patient and if you pull the whisk away and the egg whites droop down, turn that mixer back on and continue whipping until they can hold their shape.

You can also do this in a stand mixer if you prefer.

Once the egg whites are nice and stiff, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of almond extract and whip the egg whites for a few more seconds to fully incorporate.

Now that your egg whites are whipped, set them aside for now and combine all of the other ingredients in a large bowl.

You will need 2 1/2 cups of super fine almond flour, 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (natural or dark), 1 tablespoon of espresso powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. The espresso powder will help to really intensify the chocolate flavor in these cookies, but it is optional, so don’t fret if you do not have any. You can just leave it out.

Whisk the dry ingredients and then add the whipped egg whites…

Use a silicone spatula to gently incorporate the whipped egg whites into the dry ingredients. You don’t want to mix this cookie dough too vigorously or you will deflate the air you just whipped into the egg whites. Just mix the ingredients together enough to be sure that these are no dry spots left in the dough.

As soon as the cookie dough is ready to go, add 1/3 cup of demerara or turbinado (large crystal) sugar into one shallow dish and 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar into another shallow dish. We will be rolling the cookies into these sugars before baking to both give them both a beautiful appearance and to add a crunchy sweet coating to the amaretti.

You can omit the sugars, but I really like what it adds to these cookies. They are not overly sweet on their own, so this coating finishes them off perfectly. Rolling cookies in the demerara sugar first, helps to create a crunchy coating and the confectioners sugar gives these cookies their beautiful appearance.

Use a greased cookie dough scoop to gather a tablespoon of cookie dough and drop it into the bowl of demerara sugar…

Once the cookies have been rolled into the demerara and confectioners sugar, transfer them onto a parchment lined baking sheet an inch to inch and a half apart. These cookies do not spread much, so you don’t need to leave a lot of room for spreading, but I do like to leave enough room between each cookie to allow all sides to get enough heat as they bake up.

Once the cookies are fully coated in the sugars and placed onto the baking sheet, bake them in a 325 degree oven for 18-21 minutes or until the cookies feel lightly set. Its ok if the cookies feel a little soft in the middle, but they shouldn’t feel gooey.

Once the cookies are baked, gently transfer them onto a cooling rack…

There is something very inviting about these elegant little cookies. Using a cooking dough scoop to gather the dough will result in nicely matched cookie shapes and sizes and rolling them in the layers of sugar gives them this wonderful cracked appearance.

I love seeing the dark chocolate peaking through the bright white coating. It makes you want to take a bite and see what deliciousness is inside and when you do, trust me, you will not be disappointed!

The way these cookies look and the fact that their texture stays soft and chewy at room temperature for days makes them a wonderful cookie for gift baskets or Christmas cookie trays.

If you are already a fan of amaretti or about to bake up your very first batch, I know that you will love the flavors and textures of these delicious Italian cookies.

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