Add my vegan and gluten-free Italian Amaretti Cookies to your holiday cookie platter and watch them go! The dough takes less than 10 minutes to assemble and is made entirely in the food processor.
Amaretti cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats to make and eat. I had posted scrumptious vegan amaretti cookies a long ago on this blog, but this time I have for you a cookie that's gluten-free. Not only that, it's incredibly simple and easy to make.
And it's so close to the real thing, you will be blown away.
If you're asking now what are Amaretti cookies are, here's the primer: they are light, soft, airy and somewhat chewy, and they have been called Italy's answer to the French macaron. And did I say they are altogether delicious?
The texture of these cookies depends heavily on egg whites but since those are no-nos on this blog, I used aquafaba, or chickpea brine.
Making these cookies couldn't be easier. I first whip up the aquafaba in a food processor until it's holding soft peaks, and then I throw in all the ingredients one after the other. Press a button, and your dough's ready.
All you have to do now is roll the cookies into little balls, place them on a baking sheet, flatten them a bit, and bake.
Ingredients
- Almond flour
- Gluten-free all purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Turbinado sugar -- for rolling the cookies in for that pretty look
- Aquafaba
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract or liqueur
How to make vegan and gluten-free Amaretti Cookies:
- Make sure you whip your aquafaba. It couldn't be easier in a food processor, but be patient. Wait until it begins to hold soft peaks. You can help stabilize your whipped aquafaba with a pinch of cream of tartar-- they way you would if you were whipping egg whites.
- Make sure you use some almond flavoring, in addition to the almond flour, for cookies that really taste like almonds. Almond extract or almond liqueur both would work.
- Use powdered sugar in your cookies for the right texture, not granulated.
- You can use either granulated or powdered sugar to roll your cookies just before baking. Both give different-looking but equally delicious cookies.
I love the fact that these bring a touch of the exotic to the holidays. Try 'em today and come back and let me know how they turned out for you.
Try these vegan cookies next:
- Vegan and Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
- Buttery Vegan Almond Cookies
- Vegan Coconut Almond Macaroons (GF)
- Vegan Pecan Pie Bars, gluten-free, no corn syrup
- Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars, Vegan, Gluten-Free
- Vegan, Gluten-Free White Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- Vegan Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies, Naturally Sweetened and Gluten-Free (20-minute recipe)
- Vegan Orange Almond Biscotti
Vegan Amaretti Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar (If using turbinado or another sugar that's coarse, run briefly through food processor first to powder)
- 4 tablespoons corn starch or tapioca starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or almond liqueur like Amaretto)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (to dust over cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare one or two baking sheets by lining with parchment papers or silpat.
- Whisk the almond flour, corn starch, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Mix the apple cider vinegar and almond extract with the lukewarm water.
- Pour the water-acv mixture into the almond flour mixture and mix with a spatula. The dough will be a bit wetter than regular amaretti cookie dough but that's okay. The looser dough will help make the cookies lighter without the eggs.
- Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, an inch apart, on the prepared baking sheet.
- Dust the cookies with powdered sugar, if using. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet once halfway through.
- Let the baked cookies stand five minutes. Then gently transfer to a rack so they can continue cooling.
Recipe notes
- The cookie dough for these vegan amaretti cookies will be a little looser than the dough for amaretti made with egg whites. The moisture is essential for the lift that egg whites would otherwise give.
- The cookies are soft and chewy the day they are made but will crisp up over the coming days while remaining soft inside.
- Since these cookies are eggless, you can store them at room temperature for up to a week. You can also refrigerate them for three weeks. To freeze the cookies, flash-freeze them first, then freeze in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
cassiemvq
These were great! Such a nice flavor and texture. I yielded a total of 36 cookies. Easy to make but I need to cut the time down a little. In my oven they were burnt at the bottom after 30 minutes. I was thinking that it might be fun to add finely chopped almonds to the mixture -- but a small amount so as to surprise and not to overwhelm. Thanks for such a great recipe! I'm going to tell my neighbors on Next Door about this.
Anonymous
Thank you! Would regular flour be OK to substitute?
Vaishali
Yes!
Jennie
Can these Amaretti cookies be frozen without losing the unique texture?
Vaishali
Yes!
Jennie
Thank you! I’m looking forward to seeing how they come out- a special treat for my vegan sister who used to love traditional Italian cookies.
Joann PUCCINI
All i can say is wow..jp
Diane
These are incredible. Absolutely delish. The family devoured them within minutes of getting them out of the oven-- they wouldn't even wait for the cookies to cool!!
Lissa Sperandeo
If I want to use egg whites how many do I usa?