Chewy Almond Cookies

Alex and I went to Italy at the end of May. We started out in Sicily and then went up to Naples and Sorrento, finally finishing off in Rome. It was an amazing experience. While there, I definitely made it my goal to eat and drink as much local food as possible. I tried some things for the first time (snails) and I had the best of things I had tried before (ricotta).

But one thing I was disappointed in was the cookies. We bought cookies in a few places and they always just seemed like I was eating almond paste. Where was the chew? Where was the crunch? Maybe I’m just not into the cookies from the region.

So anyway, here is a recipe for chewy almond cookies that I love.

Chewy Almond Cookies

Adapted from Kitchen Sanctuary

3 egg whites

280 g almond meal

280 g sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp (30 mL) amaretto liquor

Pinch of salt

Extra sugar and powdered sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 325F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Prepare two small bowls: one with granulated sugar and one with powdered sugar. Set aside.

In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, begin to beat egg whites. Once whites are frothy, add the sugar in a slow steady stream. Continue beating whites to stiff peaks. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Add almond meal, salt, and amaretto and fold carefully into egg whites just until no streaks of flour remain.

Roll dough into golf ball sized balls. The dough should be slightly sticky, but still fairly easy to roll. If it is way too sticky, add more flour 1 tbsp at a time until you can roll it. Roll each ball in granulated sugar and then in powdered sugar. Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Once the sheet is full, flatten each dough ball slightly with your fingers.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden but still soft in the middle.

Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for at least a week.