Every Christmas since I can remember my Oma or my Mom or myself have made Hazelnut Macaroons. They are delicious and beautiful, but a little tricky and time consuming so this year I decided to try something different.
I first tried Amaretti Cookies (traditionally made with almond flour/meal) this past Summer at a yearly get together for the Sunshine Coast’s famous Sleepy Hollow Rod Run. Our friend Rob had set out a plate of gorgeous and delicate Amaretti cookies he wanted me to try… oh man they were so good! The texture was so close to the tricky Hazelnut Macaroons I made every year that I just had to have the recipe. I’ve been hanging on to the recipe for months now, knowing I would give it a try at Christmastime, but with hazelnuts instead.
While my first attempt was a delicious but super ugly, spread out batch of crazy looking blobs that my hubby and Rob got to chow down at work, the second time was a charm after doing a little research. On that note, DO NOT skip chilling the dough. That change alone made a HUGE difference.
While these Hazelnut Amaretti Cookies are not exactly like my Hazelnut Macaroons they are absolutely that delicate, light, chewy and flavourful type of cookie I was hoping for.
Merry Christmas to you all and of course, happy baking! 🙂
If you liked this recipe you are going to love these ones!
Hazelnut Macaroons + Tribute to My Mom
Spelt Christmas Cookie Round Up
Almond Anise Christmas Cookies
Hazelnut Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients
- 300 grams hazelnuts roasted, cooled and finely ground
- 200 grams organic sugar
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 2 large egg whites 60g of egg white
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp amaretto liqueur
- 1/4 cup organic sugar for rolling the dough in
Instructions
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Whisk the ground hazelnuts, sugar and baking powder together in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle the vanilla extract and amaretto liqueur on top and whisk again to combine.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer or medium bowl with hand held mixer, beat the eggs whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture until completely combined. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it into 1 inch balls, toss in the extra sugar for rolling and place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
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Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookie bottoms are golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Would like to try these! Can you substitute hazelnut flour and how much? Thank you Susan
Hi Susan, I am not entirely sure but I believe hazelnut flour is essentially the same as ground hazelnuts. The only difference it seems is that hazelnut flour is made with blanched (skin off) nuts and I grind hazelnuts with the skin on. You should be able to substitute it one for one. Happy baking!