Less is more unless it's chocolate...

I couldn't stop eating the batter whilst making these chocolate amaretti  biscuits...Observing all the health and safety rules of course!

Before adding the chocolate it tasted like the more-ish chewy Persian nougat sweets called Gaz that relatives bring us from Iran. Or are given along with glasses of aromatic sweet tea when shopping in Iranian food stores. Then when baked they were something else...nutty, chewy nougat-like chocolate scrumptiousness. Sandwiched together with hazelnut chocolate paste positively delicious. 

I found the amaretti biscuit  recipe on the last page of randomly selected 'a little taste of Italy' by Sophie Braimbridge and Jo Glynn.

The tale of the baking of these little sweet deserts is a bit of a nutty trilogy.  Traditionally Italian Ameretti biscuits are made with almonds and almond liqueur. That was my plan.  Except that I only had 200g of blanched almond slivers in my pantry. But I did have lots of pistachio slivers...also both brought by generous relatives. The third nut was in the chocolaty filling the Italian hazelnut and chocolate spread, Pasta Gianduja...Nutella to you and me but produced in Italy by Ferrero  the company who also make Ferrero Rocher chocolates. 

This is my Chocolate Amaretti biscuit recipe:

Ingredients:

• 125g/4.5 ounces of blanched almonds and pistachio slivers
• 1/2 a cup of dark agave syrup
• 3 tsp's of spelt flour
• 2 egg whites
• 4 desert spoons  of cocoa powder
• 1/3 of a cup of golden caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/2 of vanilla paste
• A capful of liqueur.  I didn't have any amaretto so used honey rum liqueur that someone had brought us back from the Canary Islands.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180f/350f/gas mark 4 and prepare a baking tray.
2. Grind the nuts in a blender.
3. Add the agave syrup, flour, cocoa powder,vanilla and liqueur and mix well.
4. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites until soft peak stage.
5. Add the caster sugar little by little into the eggs and continue to whisk until shiny and stiff.
6. Fold the nutty mixture carefully into the eggs until combined. Being careful not to overwork.
7. Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking tray
8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cooked.
9. These can be eaten as they or sandwiched together with cream or hazelnut chocolate spread...yummy..

joining the 'we should cocoa' here and here and 'random recipe'  challenges this month...