Sometimes the simplest things can provide the most pleasure, and I think amaretti are a perfect example of that. 

As a kid, one of my favourite winter weekend desserts would be an exotic fruit salad doused in Passoã (a wonderful passion fruit liqueur) served with a large dollop of thick crème fraîche or mascarpone and, most importantly, amaretti biscuit crumbled over the top – you must wait five minutes before you dive in, it allows everything to meld together yielding an unrivalled fusion of flavours. Fast forward a few years to a holiday in Italy where my mid-morning espresso would often be accompanied by an amaretto, and I was once again reminded of the magnificence of these humble biscuits – a coffee-drenched amaretto is a very special thing.

As we march on into December, the pressure of buying presents looms large. The most important thing when it comes to buying gifts, I think, is effort; a decent gift should look like time, thought and energy has gone into it. While there’s a raft of options out there to buy, I think a homemade gift has so much more value. I’m a sucker for a framed collage of black and white photos, but also, a batch of homemade confections, preserves, or biscuits, never fails to deliver. Now I get it, it’s not always feasible to be endlessly burrowing away in your kitchen from the beginning of December churning out homemade gifts for friends and family, however, these little biscuits are laughably simple to make not to mention exquisite to eat. This variety has a thin toasty crust, shrouded in icing sugar. Beneath the surface lies a fudgy bitter-almond-rich centre.

You can switch up the nuts to suit your preference – I recommend keeping a portion of ground almonds in there, but you could sub in pistachios or maybe hazelnuts, in place of the unblanched almonds, for an alternative nutty flavour. Personalise them with a pinch of zest or spice, maybe even a dash of ground coffee or cocoa powder… there’s so much potential here and so much joy to be had. I hope you love them as much as I do, and it goes without saying I hope you all have a magical Christmas.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 18-20

Amaretti

100g unblanched almonds

110g ground almonds

120g caster sugar

1/8th tsp salt

½ tsp good quality almond extract

60g egg whites (about 2 medium)

Optional extras: zest/spices/coffee powder, etc.

50g icing sugar for rolling

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Measure the unblanched almonds into a food processor and blitz to form a fine crumb – be careful not to over mix here as the nuts will become oily, I tend to pulse the nuts, giving them a stir around every so often to ensure they are being pulverised evenly.

Once the almonds are a mealy consistency, add the sugar and salt and pulse to combine, then add the ground almonds and optional extras of your choice and pulse again until combined. Finally, add the egg whites and almond extract and pulse until a dough forms. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes to rest and allow some of the moisture to absorb into the dough.

Meanwhile, measure the icing sugar into a bowl. Once the dough has rested, use a spoon to portion into chunks of dough weighing around 20g – the dough will be a bit tacky – you should get 18-20 chunks from this amount of dough. Roll the dough chunks into golf balls then, working with one at a time, toss each ball in the icing sugar, roll around until liberally coated then transfer to the lined baking trays. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Once you have coated all your dough balls, you can perform a second icing sugar roll as some of the icing sugar will start to be absorbed into the dough. Return to the baking trays. At this point, you can gently flatten each ball slightly to give a thick disc or pinch the sides of each ball with your fingers to create cute shapes like those in the picture.

Once you are happy with the shape, bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes for softer amaretti, up to 25 minutes for a crunchier exterior and a little chew on the inside. Once baked, cool completely on the baking trays. These can be kept in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

If making them as gifts, pop a handful in a jar, decorate with a ribbon and personalise with a festive tag.