Amaretti production in Sassello began in the 1800s and the recipe has remained unchanged ever since. In the hinterland between Liguria and Piedmont, peasants used to plant almond trees near their homes, both for embellishment and to harvest the fruit.
But these plants produced quantities of almonds far in excess of their needs. For this reason, as good Ligurians, they decided to experiment with the product in confectionery; Sassello was the first town to find a suitable solution, giving birth to amaretto.
The traditional recipe calls for the use of simple ingredients, almonds, armelline (the inner part of the core of the apricot and peach), egg white and sugar. I personally prefer not to use the armellins, which contain a substance that is slightly toxic to the body if taken in large quantities, and since one of these cookies leads to another I replace the bitter almonds with a little almond essence.
The original recipe calls for the almonds to be pounded in the mortar until they are reduced to a powder, an undoubtedly faster method is the mixer to be used however with some caution, better to do it in "alternating" mode, beat of mixer – stop – beat of mixer – stop…. in this way you will not leave time for the almonds to overheat, thus risking them losing or changing flavor.
