Keen to avoid the malls this December – and yet still spoil someone with a gift that oozes decadence? Bake them some biscuits! Specifically, these beautiful biscuits, by Petra Galler.
Recipe: Petra Galler’s Pistachio amaretti
A twist on the almond-based classic, these biscuits are so tasty and everyone I have ever made them for promptly falls in love with them. The moist fudgy texture in these cookies couldn’t be better and the pistachio flavour is so rich and decadent here. They really could rival the almond-only original; a bold claim I know, but I’m making it.
Makes 24 biscuits
180 g (6¼ oz) pistachios, finely ground in a food processor
300 g (10½ oz) ground almonds
½ teaspoon flaky salt
4 egg whites
zest of 1 orange
½ teaspoon vanilla paste
380 g (13½ oz) icing sugar, plus 100 g (3½ oz) extra for rolling
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) fan-bake. Grease and line two large oven trays.
2 Combine the ground nuts and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.
3 In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites, zest and vanilla until fluffy and thick; about 3–4 minutes.
4 Sieve the icing sugar over the egg whites and fold to combine. Add in the ground nut mixture and stir until fully incorporated. The mixture should be thick and a little on the sticky side.
5 Roll the dough into 24 small balls; damp hands are quite helpful here. Roll each cookie in icing sugar and place on the prepared trays 2 cm (¾ in) apart; we want to leave them in balls here, so don’t flatten them at all.
6 Bake for 15–20 minutes. The cookies are done when lightly browned and cracks have formed on the surface.
7 Allow the biscuits to cool for 5 minutes on the baking trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
The amaretti will keep for up to 6 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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