A lot of my recent bakes have been quite challenging, so today I am taking it back to  basics with my Italian Amaretti Biscuits Recipe.

Amaretti Biscuits are bite-sized almond flavoured biscuits which you will often find served alongside a cup of coffee. Traditionally they are made using Ground Almonds instead of flour which makes them Gluten Free, unfortunately a lot of shop bought versions are bulked out with wheat flour which makes them unsuitable for Coeliacs.

Luckily they are incredibly quick and easy to make at home! This recipe makes approximately 44 small biscuits from only 4 ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to do.

Amaretti Biscuits – GF/DF

Ingredients

1 egg white

85g ground almonds

85g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 190 C/170 C fan/gas mark 4.

2) In a mixing bowl whisk the egg whites with an electric hand mixer until they become firm.

3) Fold in the ground almonds, caster sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture comes together to form a paste. Do not over mix the paste or it will become too runny.

4) Line three baking sheets with greaseproof baking paper and lightly grease with butter using a pastry brush. You can use a diary free alternative such as oil or dairy free spread instead of butter if you wish.

5) Transfer the paste into a piping bag with a medium plain nozzle and pipe small round blobs onto the baking sheets, leaving space in between each one to allow the biscuits to expand in the oven.

If you are not confident with piping you can use a teaspoon to place each blob on to the baking trays, I just think piping gives a neater finish.

6) Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are a lovely golden brown.

7) Once you have removed your biscuits from the oven leave them to cool on the baking tray for a few moments, they should then lift off the baking paper quite easily.

Amaretti Biscuits will keep up to two weeks if you store them properly, either in a clip top jar or in an airtight container.