Amaretti biscuits

Generality

Macaroons are sweet foods of dry pastry, more precisely biscuits, which according to the original recipe can take on a dry or soft consistency; all macaroons have a typical bitter-sweet taste, a more or less convex discoid shape, a rough and cracked surface, and a beige color tending to gold.

The variability of the recipes (hence the consistency) of the macaroons is due to the relative local tradition; it is not clear what the geographical area that first saw these cookies appear on the table of the privileged classes, but it seems that the regions (or the kingdoms, given the historical period) contending for the primitive of the macaroons are three: Piedmont, Liguria and Sicily.

The Piedmontese Amaretti di Saronno, in all likelihood, are currently the best known (perhaps with regard to the homonymous alcoholic beverage), and are also a fairly common ingredient in the formulation of various desserts, spoon desserts and stuffed pastas. Their recipe makes them drier than other variants, while Sassello's Ligurian amaretti are characterized by a soft consistency and a lighter color; those of Sicily are not referable to a city or to a well-defined area of ​​origin but, in view of the considerable production of almonds, it cannot be excluded that they may represent a typical regional preparation.

Basic Ingredients and Video Recipe

The BASE ingredients for the production of amaretti biscuits are: sweet almonds (fruit of the P. dulcis tree), granulated sugar (sucrose) and egg whites of chicken. It is not uncommon for almonds to be replaced by a raw marzipan paste (mixture of almonds, egg whites and sugar), with other oily seeds (such as hazelnuts, fruit of the C. avellana tree) or with coconut flour (fruit of the C. nucifera tree), just as it is possible that some egg yolks are added to the egg whites.

Attentive readers will certainly have noticed that the ingredients do NOT include bitter almonds (fruit of the P. amygdalus tree or seed of apricots or peaches); this is because, in fact, the addition of this ingredient varies considerably from one recipe to another and some do not include it at all. Moreover, in all the traditional macaroon recipes the presence of flour is excluded, therefore the mixture is semi-liquid; at home or in small catering productions, the shaping takes place through the use of a pastry bag ( sac à poche ) fitted with a smooth nozzle. Macaroons are baked in the oven at a temperature of about 150-180 ° C (time varies depending on the cooking mode: ventilated, static, with or without steam).

WARNING! Bitter almonds are a highly controversial food; they are rich in amygdalin, a cyanogenic glucoside which liberates benzaldehyde, glucose and hydrogen cyanide by hydrolysis; this last molecule is STRONG toxic for humans and in high concentrations can lead to poisoning and even death (6-10 seeds in the child and 50-60 seeds for the adult).

Video Recipe - Homemade Soft Macaroons

Soft amaretti

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Complete list of Recipes Made with Amaretti

Other examples of recipes

Nutritional composition per 100 grams of edible portion Variation amaretti 1:

Nutritional values ​​(per 100 g of edible portion)

Edible part 100.0% water 1.6g Protein 11, 3g Lipids TOT 13, 1g Saturated fatty acids 1, 06g Monounsaturated fatty acids 8, 76g Polyunsaturated fatty acids 3, 27g Cholesterol 0, 0mg TOT Carbohydrates 72, 1g Starch 4, 2g Soluble sugars 67, 9g Dietary fiber 2, 8g Power 433, 5kcal Sodium 92, 4mg Potassium 262, 4mg Iron 1.0 mg Football 63, 4mg Phosphorus 137, 7mg Thiamine 0, 06mg Riboflavin 0, 33mg Niacin 1, 05mg Vitamin A 0.00 µg C vitamin 0, 00mg Vitamin E 6, 71mg

1. Macaroon variant 1

   Ingredients : 1000g of granulated sugar, 350g of peeled sweet almonds, 60g of peeled bitter almonds, 100g of egg white, QB vanilla. Procedure : Chop the almonds with half of the sugar and an egg white, work by hand adding the rest of the sugar and the egg white, make the dough with a pastry bag with a smooth mouthpiece and cook at 180 ° C.

2. Macaroon variant with cocoa:

   Ingredients : 1000g of peeled sweet almonds, 2600g of granulated sugar, 150g of cocoa, 200g of egg whites. Procedure : as above, add the cocoa being processed, sprinkle with sugar before baking.

3. Pasta for sweet macaroons:

   Ingredients : 2500g of granulated sugar, 1500g of peeled sweet almonds, 700g of egg whites, grated lemon zest. Procedure : as in the Amaretti variant 1.

4. Hazelnut macaroon paste:

   Ingredients : 1000g of sugar, 600g of peeled hazelnuts, 320g of egg whites. Procedure : as in the Amaretti variant 1.

Nutritional characteristics

On the side is the translation of the "Amaretti variant 1", obtained by analyzing the ingredients listed and not by quoting research institutes or commercial labels applied to the packaging of purchased biscuits.

Macaroons are highly energetic foods; they bring significant quantities of simple carbohydrates and lipids, even if among the latter the unsaturated fatty acids predominate compared to saturated ones; proteins are present in fair quantities but do not contain a complete amino acid pool. Dietary fiber in macaroons is worthy of attention.

From the point of view of mineral salts, amaretti biscuits are rich in potassium, while as far as vitamins are concerned the contribution of tocopherols (vitamin E) stands out.

NB : We remind you that the macaroons produced with bitter almonds contain potentially toxic molecules, therefore (especially in the feeding of the child), it is advisable to consume them in moderation and in any case in REDUCED portions.