Italian Amaretti Biscuits

Time for another dip into my baking books for inspiration. My parents came for lunch this Sunday so I wanted to find a biscuit to go with their cup of tea. The Hairy Bikers provided something simple but with new techniques and more piping – Amaretti Biscuits. 

Method 

First I lightly whisked egg whites till they were foamy and then gradually added caster sugar. This made a fairly stiff and sticky mixture. A couple of drops of vanilla essence were added and whisked in. After all the whisking it was time for the ground almonds that were folded in with my new big metal spoon. I was worried about keeping the air in the mix but it got very thick with all the almonds.

Then the piping! The mixture was piped out onto a lined baking tray. The recipe said it made 24 biscuits but I managed maybe twice that. My biscuits were probably too small! I attempted to stick bits of crushed sugar cube to the top but my amarettis were having none of it.

Then it was into the oven till they are “crisp and lightly browned”.

Results 

My crazy oven yet again managed to turn things for the worse. Because I ended up with three trays of biscuits I had to put them on the top and bottom shelves – huge mistake. The ones on the bottom were very burnt underneath and the ones on the top cooked too quickly so were still soft in the middle. The tray in the middle turned out pretty ok. They had a crunch but were softer than I expected and more dense. However my Dad said he liked them better than the ones in the shop! 

Point to remember: Keep baking to middle shelf and move things around if needed. 

Score: 5/10 

Soundtrack: 18 Months by Calvin Harris (10 number ones!)