Snickerdoodle Amaretti Cookies
These festive cookies are crispy on the outside with a super chewy interior - almost like a macaron! The almond flour gives them a delicious nutty and sweet flavor.
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 egg whites
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For cinnamon-sugar mixture:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar for dusting on top optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift the almond flour and 3/4 cup granulated sugar into a large bowl. Then add the salt and whisk briefly to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites by hand or with an electric mixer until it reaches medium stiff peaks. When you lift the whisk or beater, the egg whites should hold their shape with a little droop at the point.
- Add one third of the almond mixture to the egg whites and gently fold until just combined. Then add the vanilla extract and gently fold in. Add the remaining almond mixture and gently fold until everything is incorporated.
- For the cinnamon sugar mixture: whisk together the 1/4 cup sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Scoop out approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and form into a ball. Wet your hands with water to avoid sticking. Roll the dough into a ball and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar. Then arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a little room for spreading. Optionally coat the dough balls in powdered sugar by sifting powdered sugar over the balls. Then barely flatten each ball with the bottom of a cup.
- Bake the cookies at 325ºF for 21-24 minutes. The surface of the cookie should be slightly hard when done baking, but still flexible enough to gently flatten with your finger. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
Make sure you are using almond flour and not almond meal which has a coarser texture.
I strongly recommend dusting the cookies with powdered sugar for the classic cracked look, but feel free to skip it if you don't have any.
For the best result, sift your almond flour and sugar, but if you don't have a sifter, feel free to just whisk them together.
Try your best not to over-bake these cookies or they might not have a chewy interior. The crust will be slightly hard when you remove them from the oven but you should be able to easily bend the cookie in half.