Amaretti Italian biscuits (Amareti italijanski keksi)

Soft and slightly crunchy Italian biscuits with an intense almond flavor and a thin crust made of powdered sugar.

Tags: vegetarian recipe, gluten free, for kids, for a snack, cookies for coffee and tea.

Preparation time: 45 minutes.

Cooling time: 30 minutes.

Total preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

Ingredients (20–24 biscuits, 4–5 cm in diameter):

• 200 g ground almonds
• 150 g of powdered sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• a pinch of salt
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

1. Mix ground almonds, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt.

2. Add egg whites (unbeaten), almond extract and lemon juice. Combine everything until a thick, sticky mixture is obtained.

3. Make balls from the mixture and roll them in powdered sugar.

4. Arrange on a tray lined with baking paper and press lightly with your fingers.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 °C (338 °F) for about 12–15 minutes.

6. Leave to cool completely.

Suggestion: amaretto almond cookies.

Storage and shelf life of amaretti biscuits

• Store in a tightly closed box, at room temperature, in a dry and dark place.
• Do not refrigerate as they may absorb moisture and lose crispiness.
• Shelf life: about 7–10 days.
• For longer storage, they can be frozen in a tightly closed container or bag for up to 2-3 months.
• Thaw at room temperature, in a closed container, so that moisture does not condense on the biscuits.

• For desserts in glasses, it is best to crumble them just before stacking to retain texture.

Tips for amaretti biscuits:

1. For a more intense almond flavor, use finely ground almonds.
2. If you want soft amaretti biscuits on the inside, don't overbake them. They should remain slightly soft in the middle.
3. For a crispier crust, leave the shaped balls for 10-15 minutes before baking to let the surface dry a little.
4. Almond extract gives the characteristic taste of amaretti, but you can replace it with 1-2 tablespoons of amaretto liqueur.
5. Powdered sugar on the surface gives a traditional look and a thin sweet crust.
6. To use as dessert in glasses, you can bake the biscuits a little crispier, cool them completely and then crumble them.
7. Store them in a well-closed box so they don't absorb moisture.

Uses of amaretti biscuits:

1. Crumbled as a base or layer in desserts in glasses. For desserts in glasses, it is best to cool them completely, then crumble them into larger pieces.
2. As a layer between chocolate mousse, vanilla mousse or coffee mousse.
3. With cherry mousse, raspberry mousse, strawberry mousse or peach mousse.
4. As a crunchy layer with chocolate ganache or white chocolate ganache.
5. Sprinkle over cream, mousse and ice cream.
6. As a base for cheesecake.
7. Crumbled into tiramisu instead of ladyfingers.
8. As an addition to the mascarpone cream.
9. More coarsely broken as a crunchy layer between fruit and cream.
10. As a decoration with a whole amaretti ball on top of the dessert.
11. They have a pronounced taste of almonds and go well with chocolate mousse, coffee cream, fruits: cherries, raspberries and white chocolate.

Interesting facts about amaretti biscuits:

• Amaretti are traditional Italian biscuits with a strong almond flavor.
• The name "amaretti" is related to the Italian word "amaro", which means bitter — because of the characteristic slightly bitter taste of almonds.
• There are two famous textures: soft amaretti morbidi and crunchy amaretti secchi* (see meaning below).
• They are traditionally made from almonds, sugar and egg whites, so they are naturally flour-free and therefore gluten free.
• Almonds give biscuits a characteristic aroma, and bitter almond aroma is often used.
• Amaretti are great for desserts because they can be used in two ways: as a whole cookie for decoration or crumbled as a crunchy layer.
• In Italian cuisine, they are often used as an ingredient in other desserts, where they provide an almond aroma and additional texture.
• They go especially well with chocolate, coffee, cherries, peaches, pears and white chocolate.

Meaning: 

• Amaretti morbidi – soft amaretti. They may have a thin crust on the outside, but they are soft, juicy and chewy on the inside.
• Amaretti secchi – dry amaretti. They are crunchy, harder and more like a classic dry biscuit.

Mekani i blago hrskavi italijanski keksi sa intenzivnim ukusom badema i tankom koricom od šećera u prahu.

Oznake: vegetarijanski recept, bez glutena, za decu, za uzinu, keksi za kafu i caj.

Vreme pripreme: 45 minuta.
Vreme hlađenja: 30 minuta.
Ukupno vreme pripreme: 1 h 15 minuta.

Sastojci (20–24 keksa, prečnika 4–5 cm):

• 200 g mlevenih badema
• 150 g šećera u prahu
• 2 belanca
• 1 kašičica ekstrakta badema
• 1 kašičica soka od limuna
• prstohvat soli
• šećer u prahu za posipanje

Priprema:

1. Pomešati mlevene bademe, šećer u prahu i prstohvat soli.

2. Dodati belanca (neumucena), ekstrakt badema i sok od limuna. Sve sjediniti dok se ne dobije gusta, lepljiva smesa.

3. Od smese praviti kuglice i uvaljati ih u šećer u prahu.

4. Ređati na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje i blago pritisnuti prstima.

5. Peći u prethodno zagrejanoj rerni na 170 °C (338 °F) oko 12–15 minuta.

6. Ostaviti da se potpuno ohlade.

Predlog: amareto badem kolacici.

 Čuvanje i rok trajanja amareti keksa 

1. Čuvati u dobro zatvorenoj kutiji, na sobnoj temperaturi, na suvom i tamnom mestu.
2. Ne čuvati u frižideru jer mogu povući vlagu i izgubiti hrskavost.
3. Rok trajanja: oko 7–10 dana.
4. Za duže čuvanje mogu se zamrznuti u dobro zatvorenoj posudi ili vrećici do 2–3 meseca.
5. Odmrzavati na sobnoj temperaturi, u zatvorenoj posudi, kako se na keksima ne bi kondenzovala vlaga.
6. Za dezerte u čašama, najbolje ih je izmrviti neposredno pre slaganja kako bi zadržali teksturu.

Saveti za amareti kekse:

1. Za intenzivniji ukus badema koristi fino mlevene bademe.
2. Ako želiš mekane amareti kekse iznutra, nemoj ih prepeći. Treba da ostanu blago mekani u sredini.
3. Za hrskaviju koricu ostavi oblikovane kuglice 10–15 minuta pre pečenja da se površina malo prosuši.
4. Ekstrakt badema daje karakterističan ukus amaretija, ali možeš ga zameniti sa 1–2 kašike amareto likera.
5. Šećer u prahu na površini daje tradicionalan izgled i tanku slatku koricu.
6. Za korišćenje u čašama, kekse možeš ispeći malo hrskavije, potpuno ohladiti i zatim izmrviti.
7. Čuvaj ih u dobro zatvorenoj kutiji da ne povuku vlagu.

Upotreba amareti keksa:

1. Izmrvljen kao podloga ili sloj u dezertima u casama. Za dezerte u čašama najbolje ih je potpuno ohladiti, pa krupnije izmrviti. 
2. Kao sloj između musa od čokolade, musa od vanile ili musa od kafe.
3. Uz mus od visanja, mus od malina, mus od jagoda ili mus od breskve.
4. Kao hrskavi sloj uz cokoladni ganas ili ganas od bele cokolade.
5. Kao posip preko krema, musa i sladoleda.
6. Kao podloga za cizkejk.
7. Izmrvljen u tiramisu umesto piskota.
8. Kao dodatak maskarpone kremu.
9. Krupnije izlomljen kao hrskavi sloj između voća i krema.
10. Kao dekoracija uz celu amareti kuglicu na vrhu dezerta.
11. Imaju izražen ukus badema i lepo se slažu sa čokoladnim musom, kremom od kafe, voćem: višnjama, malinama i belom cokoladom.

Zanimljivosti o amareti keksima:

• Amareti su tradicionalni italijanski keksi sa izraženim ukusom badema.
• Naziv „amaretti“ povezan je sa italijanskom rečju „amaro“, što znači gorak — zbog karakterističnog blago gorkastog ukusa badema.
• Postoje dve poznate teksture: mekani amaretti morbidi i hrskavi amaretti secchi* (pogledajte znacenje dole).
• Tradicionalno se prave od badema, šećera i belanaca, pa su prirodno bez brašna i samim tim bez glutena.
• Bademi daju keksima karakterističnu aromu, a često se koristi i aroma gorkog badema.
• Amareti su odlični za dezerte jer se mogu koristiti na dva načina: kao ceo keks za dekoraciju ili izmrvljen kao hrskavi sloj.
• U italijanskoj kuhinji često se koriste i kao sastojak drugih dezerata, gde daju bademastu aromu i dodatnu teksturu.
• Posebno lepo se slažu sa čokoladom, kafom, višnjama, breskvama, kruškama i belom čokoladom.

Znacenje:

• Amaretti morbidi – meki amareti. Spolja mogu imati tanku koricu, a unutra su mekani, sočni i žvakasti.
• Amaretti secchi – suvi amareti. Hrskavi su, tvrđi i više nalik klasičnom suvom keksu.