Amaretti Cookies, the Cure for Writing Block

No matter how many cows I have to milk, how many clients I have to see, how many chickens I have to feed or how many people are coming over for dinner - I always make time in my day to write.

This afternoon, when I sat down to write, I couldn’t think of anything. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I have 3 Go To’s:

1. Go for a walk

2. Do something relaxing and totally unrelated to writing

3. Cook something

I had already gone on two walks that day and had some amazing relaxing time in the sun that morning with my wife. After breakfast, we always sit in the sun, sipping our mate while our 4 kittens meow at us from the rooftop of our house. I’ll admit, most of our time is spent helping them figure out how to get off of the roof while the other half of the time is spent listening to the roosters crow.

Since I’d already checked options 1 and 2 off of my list, I went for option 3, Cook something.

For the past month I’ve been working on my Italian cookbook making new Italian inspired recipes practically every day - chicken marsala, eggplant parm, Italian beef stew, chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, pan seared sea scallops, various different timbales, grain-free risottos, meat and veggie dishes with porcini mushrooms…

If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed that I don’t talk about desserts that often. Reason being, I don’t like them. Second reason being, I am horrific at making them (probably because I don’t like them).

I’m not a sweets kind of person, much more savory. Give me some sheep cheese, figs and roasted nuts at the end of a meal and I’m completely satisfied. Pie, cookies, cake, pastries - these are a hard pass for me. I don’t even have to think about it. They’re just not appealing.

The thing is, my wife loves sweets. She will eat all of the sweets. She pines for sweets. And, she knows I am horrendous at making them, so she never asks me to make them for her.

Today however, I decided to make her something sweet.

Of course, per usual, it would predictably end in something inedible or a pile of sand, but I was in the mood to give it a try. Plus, how can I make a cookbook without a dessert section? I need to have at least some desserts in the book that people look forward to (don’t worry, I can nail an amazing Pistachio ice cream or any ice cream for that matter and there’s one key to doing so — don’t use milk which almost every ice cream recipe calls for. Instead, use heavy cream).

Today, I was feeling ambitious. I would make the classic Italian amaretti cookie but with a twist…I would also make a pistachio cream to dip them in.

For the next two hours, I made amaretti cookies and pistachio cream while listening to Ina Garten’s, Be Ready When Luck Happens, audio book.

I will say that to my surprise (and to that of my wife’s) the end product of both desserts turned out better than any dessert I’d made in months (with the exception of ice cream). Maybe it was inspiration from Ina or maybe it was a dessert win from the food Gods, either way, I’ll take it.

When my wife walked into the kitchen, I proudly shoved a spoonful of the pistachio cream into her mouth. “OMG, what is that” she asked?

This was the response I was hoping for. A dessert win, finally.

Amaretti cookies are naturally gluten and grain-free. These bite sized cookies (smaller than the palm of your hand) are chewy on the inside and have a delightful almond flavor reminiscent of the almond paste cookies my mother used to make only she put a maraschino cherry in the middle.

My amaretti cookies contain 4 ingredients, egg whites, almond flour, almond extract and sugar. Every single amaretti recipe calls for super fine (aka super processed) sugar. But, not mine. I substituted raw honey and it worked amazingly.

If you want to take these cookies to the next level, if you want to win the hearts and booze-filled bellies of your Christmas guests, if you’re planning to propose to your lover this holiday season or if you’re wanting to post a selfie on social media of you baking your heart out, then do this one thing…

Take the time to make my pistachio cream recipe to dip your amaretti cookies in (I’ll be posting this recipe later this week for you).

Will it take you 2 hours to pull off the whole thing? Yes. But, who cares. What else do you have to do when it’s bloody cold outside and when you’re smack dab in the middle of winter? Tis’ the season for doing nothing and enjoying every minute of it.

CHEF’S TIP
When making your amaretti cookies, make sure you whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. If you’ve never done this, this very short Youtube tutorial will help you get there.

Also, it’s important to gently melt the honey before adding to the egg whites as this will help the egg whites maintain their proper consistency and texture. And, don’t add honey until your egg whites have reached the foamy stage. The above linked Youtube video is a super helpful visual aid for those new to whipping egg whites.

Lastly, most amaretti cookie recipes also call for rolling the cookies in powdered sugar or sprinkling with granulated sugar. Since I don’t like sugar, I’ve omitted this ingredient. Of course, this is also the healthier option especially if you have faulty blood sugar genes like myself. Believe me, you don’t even need it, you won’t miss it and the pistachio cream will more than make up for the powdered sugar.

Enjoy with an espresso or a big glass of raw milk,

Heathar

AMARETTI COOKIES
2 cups blanched almond flour
2 large egg whites, brought to room temperature
1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp raw honey, gently melted
1 tsp organic almond extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 325°F.

Melt the honey on very low heat, stirring constantly until it has thinned.

Place the egg whites and almond extract in a bowl and whisk with a hand mixer (electric mixer) or KitchenAid Mixer, until the egg whites are foamy (should only take 1-3 minutes). Start mixing on a low speed and gradually increase the speed after you’ve added the 2 tablespoons of honey.

Add 1 tablespoon of honey. Keep mixing.

In another minute, add another tablespoon of honey.

Now, mix until the egg whites form stiff peaks (your mixer should be on high speed at this point).

Turn off the mixer and start folding the almond flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, into the egg whites. You will pour 1/2 cup of almond flour at a time into the egg whites and drizzle a little honey on top of the almond flour each time. Fold in the almond flour and honey. Then, add a little more almond flour and honey, fold in again. Repeat until you’ve used all the almond flour and honey.

Roll into small balls - slightly bigger than the size of a half dollar. Place on a butter-greased Pyrex dish. Cook for 20 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy. And, if you can resist, allow these cookies to sit for 12-24 hours before eating, as the almond flavor will deepen with time. Don’t forget to dip them in my Pistachio Cream (recipe coming later this week)!

While Heathar is a chef and homesteader, she’s also a homeopathic practitioner. You can read about Heathar’s homeopathic practice and her Practitioner Training program, on her Study Homeopathy Substack.

If you’re interested in learning about Heathar’s farm, you can learn more, right here.