Ready for the next cookie?

I was curious to try this recipe, as most of my cookie recipes require egg yolks only, and I often end up with lots of egg whites in the fridge or in the freezer.
In all this Christmas frenzy, I have to admit I haven't had time to savour them properly and give you a proper report on their taste. But, at least the fact that they're all gone is a good sign.
At first they seemed a bit hard, but after a couple days they softened, and became slightly chewy. I think that's very nice in a cookie. And all that chocolate, uhmmmmmmmmmmmm, and guilt free (cause my husband was starting to complain about eggs, butter, colesterol, etc.).



CHOCOLATE AMARETTI

150 g peeled almonds
180 g milk chocolate
100 g white sugar
10 g (1 1/2 TBspoons) cocoa
2 egg whites (lightly beaten)
powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Toast the almonds for 7 minutes. Let them cool and then grind them finely in the food processor.
Melt 90 g of chocolate in a double boiler (or in the microwave).
In a bowl, mix together the ground almonds, the sugar and the cocoa.
Stir in the melted chocolate.

Start adding the egg whites, you may not need them all, add enough to form soft, but not sticky dough (ok, well, it is just tiny little bit sticky).



Leave the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with baking or wax paper. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough on the baking sheet (or form balls with your hands),
flatten them a little, brush with water and dust with powdered sugar.

Bake at 170°C, for 10-12 minutes on the middle rack because the bottoms burn easily.

Let them cool a little on the baking sheet, then move to a cooling rack (or simply remove them together with the baking paper onto the cooling rack and then let cool).
Melt the rest of the chocolate (90 g) and dip half of the cookie. I have a little confession here. I melted the milk chocolate but it was rather dense and not shiny, so I added some ready chocolate glaze (I always have a bag on hand, the one that you just heat putting it in the microwave), just a tiny bit of it made the chocolate look and taste better.
Let the cookies dry on a piece of baking paper and then store in an airtight container.



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AMARETTI AL CIOCCOLATO

150 g di mandorle pelate
180 g di cioccolato al latte
100 g di zucchero semolato
10 g di cacao
2 albumi (leggermente sbattuti)
zucchero a velo


Riscaldate il forno a 170°C. Tostate le mandorle per 7 minuti. Lasciatele raffreddare e poi tritale finemente.
Fatte sciogliere 90 g di cioccolato a bagnomaria sopra un pentolino con l'acqua che sobbolle o nel forno a microonde (mescolando spesso).
Unite la farina, le mandorle tritate e il cacao in una ciotola. Aggiungete il cioccolato e abbastanza albumi da ottenere una pasta morbida ma non troppo appiccicosa (ho messo un po' meno di due albumi interi).
Lasciate in frigorifero per 30 minuti.
Prendete l'impasto con un cucchiaino e distribuite mucchietti su una piastra rivestita da carta da forno (oppure formate delle palline), appiattiteli un po', spennellate con l'acqua e cospargete con lo zucchero a velo.
Cuocete a 170°C per 10-12 minuti nella parte centrale del forno.
Lasciate raffreddare i biscotti sulla piastra per 5-10 minuti, e poi trasferiteli su una griglia.
Sciogliete il resto del cioccolato, immergete i biscotti fino a metà e poi lasciateli asciugare su un pezzo di carta da forno.



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ČOKOLADNI AMARETTI

150 g oguljenih badema
180 g mliječne čokolade
100 g šećera
10 g kakaa
2 bjeljanjka (malo razmućena)
šećer u prahu

Zagrijte pećnicu na 170°C. Stavite bademe na široki pleh i pecite ih 7 minuta. Ostavite ih da se ohlade a onda fino sameljite.

Otopite na pari (ili u mikrovalnoj) 90 g čokolade.
U zdjeli pomiješajte mljevene bademe, šećer i kakao.
Dodajte otopljenu čokoladu i toliko bjeljanjaka da dobijete mekanu, ali ne ljepljivu smjesu (ja sam imala dva bjeljanjka od srednje velikih jaja, ali nisam stavila sve).
Stavite da se hladi u hladnjaku 1/2 sata.
Uzimajte tijesto žličicom (ili pola velike žlice), oblikujte kuglicu veličine oraha i malo je spljoštite da dobijete pločice debljine 1 cm.
Slažite ih na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje. Kistom navlažite kekse (vodom) i pospite mljevenim šećerom.
Pecite na 170°C, 10-12 minuta (stavite rešetku na sredinu pećnice jer lako izgore odozdo). Kad se malo prohlade i očvrsnu sklonite sa pleha.
Otopite ostatak čokolade (90 g) na pari, pa umačite kekse do pola u čokoladu.
Ostavite da se osuše na papiru za pečenju.
Za oko 20-24 keksa, ovisno o veličini.