Philip Khoury’s pistachio and cherry amaretti. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food styling: Kitty Coles. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food styling assistant: Lucy Cottle. These are the perfect festive morsels: a sweet dough of naturally green pistachios judiciously seasoned with sea salt (an essential intervention to enhance their nuttiness) which […]
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These are the perfect festive morsels: a sweet dough of naturally green pistachios judiciously seasoned with sea salt (an essential intervention to enhance their nuttiness) which encases a radiant heart of red amarena cherry. Crisp-edged and slightly chewy at the centre, they are quickly assembled, incidentally vegan and gluten-free, keep well and gift even better.
Pistachio and cherry amaretti
Prep 25 min
Cook 10 min
Makes 20 biscuits
200g shelled pistachios
110g caster sugar70g rolled oats
¼ tsp baking powder
A pinch of sea salt
Amarena or maraschino cherries in syrup, drained (approx 20 cherries)
Icing sugar, for rolling
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put the pistachios, sugar, oats, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Pulse to a fine powder, then add 35g water and pulse until it starts to clump or come together. Rest for 10 minutes and the dough will thicken.
To make the cherry-filled amaretti, divide the dough into 20 pieces. Make sure the cherries are drained and patted dry. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, press a cherry into the centre, then pinch the dough around it to cover the cherry, rolling it between your palms until the dough is round. Immediately roll the balls in icing sugar (make sure your fingers are dry) and place on the baking sheet 2½cm apart.
Bake the amaretti for eight to 10 minutes, until they turn crackly and take on a light golden hue, then remove and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a sealed container for up to a week.
Philip Khoury is head pastry chef at Harrods and author of A New Way to Bake: Re-imagined Recipes for Plant-based Cakes, Bakes and Desserts, published by Hardie Grant at £30. To order a copy for £26.40, go to guardianbookshop.com
