These vegan Amaretti cookies -- chewy, crispy and soft as a cloud -- are my favorite Italian cookies to bake every holiday season. They need just six pantry ingredients and the cookie batter takes five minutes to put together.
If you've never eaten amaretti cookies before you are in for a treat. And if you have, you will adore these vegan amaretti cookies, which are made without egg whites and need just a few simple pantry ingredients.
They are gluten-free and so, so easy to make. If you love almond-flavored cookies like these vegan almond flour cookies, buttery vegan almond cookies and vegan coconut almond macaroons, you will love these vegan amaretti cookies for sure.
Table of Contents
What are amaretti cookies?
Amaretti cookies are simple Italian almond cookies made with almond flour, sugar, almond extract and egg whites. They are often called Italian macarons, because, like the French macaron, they are made primarily with almonds and egg whites and have a chewy texture.
Amaretti cookies are pretty with crinkly tops, but they can also appear unassuming compared to their more colorful and flamboyant French counterparts. They are just as tasty, however, and once you've eaten one, its classic almond aroma and delicious flavor will linger on your taste buds for a long time to come.
Why you will love these cookies
- Light, airy and chewy, and deliciously classic cookies. Although made without eggs, these vegan amaretti cookies are just as delicious and have the same, wonderful texture as classic amaretti cookies.
- The one-bowl batter is so easy to make. Just toss in the ingredients and mix. It takes no more than five minutes to make the amaretti cookie batter and another five or 10, depending on how fast you are, to scoop the cookies into a baking sheet.
- Cookies are everyone friendly. You can't eat almonds if you're nut-free, of course, but if you're soy-free or gluten-free you are in luck. And you can be sure everyone from kids to adults will love these cookies.
Ingredients
- Super fine almond flour. You can buy this off the shelf or grind up your own flour using blanched almonds. If you are starting out with blanched almonds, make sure you grind them very fine.
- Corn starch or tapioca starch. Both give similar results so feel free to use either according to your convenience.
- Granulated sugar. Use sugar with very fine grains. If you are using sugar with larger grains, like turbinado, run it through the food processor briefly to make it finer.
- Almond extract. You can also use amaretto liqueur, an almond liqueur, instead, for a bit of a kick.
- Apple cider vinegar. You just need a teaspoon. You won't taste it in the cookies but it adds a nice lightness.
- Powdered sugar (also called confectioners' sugar or caster sugar). For sprinkling on the cookies, optional.
Variations
- For chocolate amaretti cookies, add a quarter cup of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and whisk.
- For lemon amaretti cookies replace ¼ cup of water with fresh squeezed lemon juice. You can also add the zest of a lemon to the batter for an extra zing of lemony deliciousness.
How to make vegan amaretti cookies
1. Whisk the almond flour, corn starch, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
2. Mix the apple cider vinegar and almond extract with the lukewarm water.
3. Pour the water-acv mixture into the almond flour mixture and mix with a spatula. The dough will be a bit wetter than regular amaretti cookie dough but that's okay. The looser dough will help make the cookies lighter without the eggs.
4. Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, an inch apart, on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet.
5. Dust the cookies with powdered sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet once halfway through. The bottoms of the cookies should be golden brown.
6. Let the baked cookies stand five minutes. Then gently transfer to a rack so they can continue cooling.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, amaretti cookies are usually gluten-free because the only flour used is almond flour. In this vegan recipe we use a bit of corn starch to help bind the cookies and give them some lightness, in place of eggs, but they are also completely gluten-free.
Amaretti cookies have an exquisite almond flavor. They are chewy and soft the day they are made and get crispier in the following days.
Since these cookies are eggless, you can store them at room temperature for up to a week. You can also refrigerate them for three weeks. To freeze the cookies, flash-freeze them first, then freeze in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
More delicious vegan cookie recipes
Recipe card
Vegan Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 cup sugar (If using turbinado or another sugar that's coarse, run briefly through food processor first to powder)
- 4 tablespoons corn starch or tapioca starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or almond liqueur like Amaretto)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (to dust over cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare one or two baking sheets by lining with parchment papers or silpat.
- Whisk the almond flour, corn starch, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Mix the apple cider vinegar and almond extract with the lukewarm water.
- Pour the water-acv mixture into the almond flour mixture and mix with a spatula. The dough will be a bit wetter than regular amaretti cookie dough but that's okay. The looser dough will help make the cookies lighter without the eggs.
- Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, an inch apart, on the prepared baking sheet.
- Dust the cookies with powdered sugar, if using. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet once halfway through.
- Let the baked cookies stand five minutes. Then gently transfer to a rack so they can continue cooling.
Nutrition Information
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Suzanne says
Hi Vashali,
I love the idea of these cookies, but we try to live low sugar, what do you think would be the minimum amount of sugar we could make these with?
Ann Green says
Oh my goodness these are delicious! My dough was way too wet though, so I ended up adding some whole wheat pastry flour to make it hold its shape better on the baking pan. Next time, I'll hold back some of the water at first. I haven't made amaretti cookies before. This recipe is a keeper!
Lisa says
This was delicious! First time making this and ate one hot out of the oven. YUM!😋 easy quick recipe.
Made 30 cookies. Thank you!
Lisa says
This needed WAY more amaretto! Like a tablespoon might have been better. Otherwise it was simple and pretty.
Ann says
Loved the cookies! Wondering if the baking time in my oven has to be increased? Cookies didn’t brown at all on the bottom.
Ann
Vaishali says
Happy to hear you loved the cookies! If the texture was right, no need to wait until they are brown. Otherwise increase baking time by 1-2 minutes.
Karen Watkins says
These cookies are so good I have to comment each time I make them! Tomorrow my spouse's friend is going to add an outlet to our house. Decided to make these cookies for him. I used a 1/3 cup scoop to make nice and big cookies. Discovered at the last minute, I didn't have any almond flavoring. Two parts coconut emulsion and one part vanilla extract made an excellent alternative. It is so tasty! Can't wait to surprise everyone tomorrow.
Vaishali says
So happy you loved them, Karen. Coconut and vanilla sounds amazing!