Lemon amaretti biscuits

These lemon amaretti biscuits have a crispy outer shell with a soft and chewy lemon-flavoured inside. And with only 3 main ingredients, these little lemon cookies are not only delicious, but they are ridiculously easy to make.

Don't you just love an easy foolproof recipe? This recipe for lemon amaretti biscuits is exactly that. It's not only the perfect recipe to make when unexpected guests arrive, but it's also ideal for teaching youngsters a few basic techniques.

The biscuits themselves are made by combining stiffly-beaten egg whites with ground almonds and caster sugar and flavouring with lemon essence until it forms a stiff sticky dough.

The crispy coating is made by forming spoonfuls of the dough into walnut-sized balls and rolling them in caster sugar and icing sugar (or powdered sugar).

Then the biscuits are baked in a medium to hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown.

I like to press an almond on top before baking, but this is optional.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips for a successful result
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Ingredients

This recipe makes 18 lemon amaretti biscuits.

• Ground almonds - these are finely ground almonds and are sometimes called almond meal. You can usually find ground almonds alongside the dried fruit (currants, sultanas etc) in the supermarket.
• Caster sugar - this is finer than granulated sugar. For this recipe it is preferable to using granulated sugar as it dissolves more easily. The caster sugar is used for making the dough and also for rolling the biscuits in before baking.
• Eggs - whites only. The yolks can be used to make mayonnaise or you can add them to your breakfast scrambled eggs!
• Lemon zest - this is optional and you will only need a scant teaspoonful. Use a microplaner to the fine side of a cheese grater to grate the zest from the lemon. Ensure you only take the yellow outer part of the lemon skin and not the more bitter white part.
• Lemon essence - this adds the lemon flavour.
• Icing sugar - also known as powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar - used to roll the balls of dough before baking.
• Whole almonds - optional - these are pressed onto the biscuits before baking.

**You can find the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

Tips for a successful result

Here are my top tips to ensure your lemon amaretti biscuits turn out perfectly every time:

• When beating the egg whites, ensure your bowl is perfectly clean and grease-free so that the egg whites form stiff peaks when they are beaten.
• Ensure you combine all the ingredients thoroughly. You should end up with a sticky dough that can be rolled into balls.
• If the dough is too sticky to handle, add extra ground almonds (a teaspoonful at a time) until the dough is more manageable.
• When rolling the balls, keep a damp towel nearby to wipe your hands on. This will help ensure the dough doesn't stick to your hands when you form the balls.
• Coat the balls well with caster sugar before rolling them in the icing sugar - this will form the crispy shell when the biscuits are in the oven.
• Pressing an almond onto the top of the biscuit flattens the biscuit slightly. If you prefer not to use almonds, simply flatten the balls slightly with a damp finger before baking.

Variations

You can substitute the lemon essence with your essence of choice. Why not try the following:

• almond essence - for a more traditional amaretti flavour
• coconut essence
• orange essence and orange zest

If you don't want to add almonds to the top, you can leave them off or add a glazed cherry instead.

Equipment

You will need a medium-sized mixing bowl for mixing the ingredients and a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer to beat the egg whites. Because this is quite a sticky dough, I would recommend you use a spatula or a wooden spoon for mixing so the dough does not stick to your hands.

For baking the lemon amaretti cookies you will need a large flat baking tray, lined with either baking parchment or a silicone mat to prevent sticking. If you don't have anything to line the baking tray with, you can grease it lightly with butter or margarine.

Storage

These lemon cookies can be stored in an air-tight container in the kitchen. They will stay fresh for over a week.

I haven't frozen these biscuits myself, but they can be frozen for up to three months in a suitable freezer container. If you do freeze them, you may find that they lose their crispy shell once defrosted.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to try these lemon amaretti cookies, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related recipes

Visit my cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes page for other delicious bakes. Here are a few you might enjoy.

📋The recipe

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