Amaretti Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup castor (superfine) sugar*
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 8 oz. can (or 7 oz. tube) almond paste (Do not use almond filling, which is very different.)

Directions:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. This is important, as these cookies will stick to the pan without parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Place sugar and almond paste into mixing bowl and crumble together with your fingers, then use a mixer to finish combining. Add egg whites in two batches and continue mixing until batter is smooth: 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Use a tablespoon or piping bag to mound batter onto cookie sheet, about two inches apart. At this point, you can place them in the oven “as is” or choose to add a little color or texture with sprinkles, colored sugar, sliced or slivered almonds or pecans, or unsweetened coconut. These cookies are already very sweet, so if you add a sweet topping, do it sparingly.
5. Bake for 13 -15 minutes.
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing. A metal spatula works best. Place on rack to finish cooling before storing in an airtight container.

* Caster sugar is just smaller granules of regular sugar. You can easily make it by using regular granulated sugar and pulsing it in your blender or Magic Bullet. Be careful not to go too long or you’ll have powdered sugar.