Amaretti biscuits

It’s very nearly December, so time to start practising a few recipes that I like to do for little Christmas presents for friends and family. I’m meeting up with some friends tomorrow so I decided to have a go at one of my easiest Christmas recipes – amaretti biscuits. This is a Gino D’Acampo recipe taken from the BBC website – the only changes that I have made is that I roll the biscuits rather than spooning them onto the trays; I use parchment rather than greaseproof paper (and so don’t need to butter the paper) and I make them much smaller than suggested. The original recipe suggested that it made 20 biscuits – I make about 70! I also find that they tend to take longer to bake than suggested (although this could be my oven) – I suggest turning the trays after about 12 minutes so that they bake evenly and leaving them in until they are golden brown all over.

These taste great but I'm still not completely convinced about this recipe - they don't rise or crack across the top in the way I would expect - and they are a bit chewier rather than crisp. Not sure if this is down to the way that I mix in the sugar and almonds - maybe I knock out too much of the air - I'm not sure. May give another recipe a go at some point soon.  

Amaretti biscuits

Ingredients

1. 340g/12oz ground almonds
2. 340g/12oz caster sugar
3. 4 eggs, whites only
4. 30ml/1fl oz amaretto liquor

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
2. Line two tins with baking parchment.
3. In a large bowl beat the egg whites until firm.
4. Mix the sugar and the almonds gently into it.
5. Add the amaretto liquor and fold in gently until you have a smooth paste.
6. Roll small balls of the paste and place on the baking trays – leaving at least 2cm between each as they will expand, whilst cooking.
7. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes and then remove from baking trays and cool on a wire rack.

12 fab finds for Christmas baking / Christmas gifts for bakers

Christmas is rapidly approaching and so it is definitely time for a scout around the online shops to see what I need for festive baking this year.  I’m more than a little addicted to baking equipment – it’s gradually taking over the whole kitchen! I also have a separate box of Christmas baking equipment that comes down from the loft at this time of year, but there’s always room for a few more things! Here are some of the bits and bobs that I’ve found this year: 

Christmas Ornaments Cookie Cutter Set  

   


Love these! They come in a nice solid box and would be a nice gift for a keen baker. I’m going to be using them for Christmas cookies and for cutting out fondant to decorate my Christmas cakes.

Set of Christmas sugarcraft cutters

I love plunger cutters – I have quite a collection of these already but could resist adding this set! I would definitely recommend getting sets of these on Amazon or Ebay – they’re quite expensive in Hobbycraft / Lakeland etc but can be bought relatively cheaply if you get them as a set online. 

Snowflake Cookie Cutter set 

Ok – slightly cheating as I have had these a couple of years, but I love them and would highly recommend! They can be used to make beautiful and intricate cookies, or to cut fondant icing to make great decorations for cakes.

  
Gold lustre spray 

You can buy this spray in lots of places and it is great fun to add a sparkly gold finish to cakes and cookies.

Culpitt Christmas cupcake cases 

 

There are loads of cupcake cases out there but I really rate the Culpitt range – they are much better quality than most and keep their colour and shape better than many others.

Christmas cupcake decoration moulds 

 
I’ve never used these and so I have no idea what they are like to use but I really like the look of them. Let me know what they’re like to use if you get some!

 Christmas Embossing set 

 


These aren’t actually designed for cake decorating but they work brilliantly. I haven’t got this set (although I am very tempted …) but I have used embossing plates with fondant before: it works brilliantly and gives very professional looking results.

White Edible Glitter

Again, you can pick this up in lots of different places and in lots and lots of colours. I love this simple white glitter for adding a fab sparkly touch to snowy cakes.

Lakeland fairy-tale cottage mould 

 


This features on my Christmas list this year, but I’m very tempted to buy it myself beforehand! It is oven- and freezer-proof and can be used to make gingerbread or chocolate houses.

10 x Silver Small Size Christmas Gift Boxes 

Not specifically designed for baking, so these aren’t “food-quality” but I’m hoping that these are a good size for filling with Christmas biscuits as gifts for friends and family.

Snowman Cookie / Candy Gift Box Treat boxes 
 

 
I bought these at gone 11.00 on Thursday evening and they had arrived by this morning (Saturday) – so I’m really impressed.  As the seller states, these are much nicer than they look in the picture. Great for packaging baked goods as presents!  

Lakeland Christmas macaroon boxes

 
Not sure if I'm planning to make any macaroons for Christmas this year, but if I do, I'll be very tempted to buy these boxes - they're a little expensive but very cute!