3 months ago
18
These soft and chewy pistachio amaretti are so festive and make for a wonderful offering during the holiday period when visitors are coming and going. They’re fragrant with citrus and have a beautiful green hue.
They’re wonderful plain, but I like to top them with half a pistachio kernel or, sometimes, half an amarena cherry.
If you don’t have pistachios, you can just use more almond meal to make
regular almond amaretti.
Ingredients
150g shelled, raw and unsalted pistachios, plus extra to decorate
125g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon or orange
100g icing sugar, plus extra for coating
150g almond meal
2 egg whites
sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Step 2
Place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and process to a finely ground meal. Set aside.
Step 3
Place the caster sugar and citrus zest in a large bowl and rub together until the sugar becomes fragrant with the citrus oils. Sift in the icing sugar and add the ground pistachios and almond meal. Mix to combine.
Step 4
Place the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks. Add to the almond mixture, along with the vanilla, and fold in until the mixture becomes a firm but moist paste.
Step 5
Tip extra icing sugar onto a plate. Coat your hands in some and roll the dough into walnut-sized balls (each weighing about 25g). Coat generously in the sugar.
Step 6
Place on the prepared trays, pressing the balls slightly to flatten. You can leave the biscuits plain or press half a pistachio kernel or cherry into the centre of each one.
Step 7
Bake for about 15 minutes until only just coloured. The biscuits will still be soft, but they’ll firm up as they cool.
Step 8
Allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container where they’ll keep well for a week.
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