Oh how fast the big day is approaching! Still, a thrill seeing all the delicious recipes out there and selecting which ones to share with you. When I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it! I’ve made amaretti before, blogged about it, big big fan of it. But this is different, not just because it is lemon flavored but because it is made with aquafaba – that’s right, chickpea juice! Another 2022 Christmas Treat – Lemon Amaretti made with aquafaba.
Okay it’s not really chickpea juice, but it is the liquid that chickpeas or legumes are boiled/cooked in. It has been used as a substitute for egg whites for a number of years now, but this is my first time working with this liquid. Was I nervous – well of course I was! I kept dreaming of my sweet table, family and friends gathered around and biting into lemon amaretti and tasting chickpeas. Arrrrrrrrrghhhhhh! Chef’s nightmare! Truth is, absolutely no undertones of chickpeas in sight.
It does whip up like egg whites, texturally (yes I did run my fingers through the whipped aqua faba) and visually – the same. The whipping may take a bit longer – I used my hand mixer and must have whipped on high for about 7 minutes or so to get to the semi-stiff peak stage. I did fold it into the almond mixture and it mixed well. Formed little balls, rolled in icing sugar and baked. I got 30 amaretti from the batch.
This is really about using the aquafaba more than the amaretti itself. Yes it is lemon, so I suppose that’s different, but it was really just to provide you with an option to egg whites. I think everyone has a can of chickpeas in their pantry, so if you find yourself using the chickpeas for cooking recipes, save the aquafaba for a substitute for egg whites. Give it a go and surprise or make some vegan/vegetarian friends, it is Christmas after all! A little over one week away, so be good, stay safe and stay well! As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
300g ground almonds
175g sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
120ml aquafaba, not quite all the liquid from a 540 ml can – see recipe below for what to do with the chickpeas
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g icing sugar, for rolling
Directions
Heat the oven to 390f and line one large or two smaller oven trays with parchment – set aside
In a large bowl, whisk the almonds, sugar and salt – it should be lump free, use your fingers to break up any lumps of almond
In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, whip the aquafaba for eight to 10 minutes, until it forms semi-stiff peaks – mine took a little over 7 minutes with my hand mixer on high
Gently fold the aquafaba, lemon zest and vanilla into the almond mix
Sift the icing sugar into a shallow dinner plate and set beside the dough bowl
Using a teaspoon or tablespoon measure, scoop out a portion of the dough and roll it into a ball
Place in the icing sugar – continue rolling until the plate has enough dough balls in it that you can gently coat them in the icing sugar – move the sugar coated dough balls to the parchment lined baking tray, spaced about 2” apart
Continue until all the dough is used up
Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating tray(s) half way through
Amaretti should be golden on top, remove and set aside to cool – they will harden a bit more as they cool
Suggestions and/or Substitutions
Press an almond on top of the amaretti dough ball before baking
Use lemon citrus sugar instead of plain sugar to ramp up the lemon taste
Substitute lemon or almond extract for the vanilla
With the open can of chickpeas, make some delicious https://foodinspires.com/2017/01/25/chickpea-bites/ for your great party appetizer or just for yourself
