Categories: Cookies, Italian 
      Yield: 42 servings 
  
    1/2 lb Canned almond paste                      Granulated sugar 
      1 c  Sugar                                    - for dusting 
      2 lg Egg whites                      
  
  PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 375F. Break the almond paste into small pieces and 
  combine it with the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low 
  speed until very fine. Add egg whites in 4 additions, mixing about 1 minute 
  between each. Beat the paste until very smooth, about 2-to-3 minutes. Fill 
  a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tube with the mixture. Line 2 
  cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with parchment paper. Pipe the mixture on 
  the paper in 1-to-1 1/2-inch mounds, about 1-inch apart. Fold a clean 
  kitchen towel into a long strip and moisten the towel with water. Squeeze 
  lightly to eliminate excess water, leaving the towel more than damp. Slap 
  the surface of the Amaretti gently with the towel to moisten them and make 
  the surface smooth. Sprinkle the Amaretti with granulated sugar. Bake about 
  15-to-20 minutes, until they are well risen, a deep golden color, and their 
  surface is covered with tiny cracks. Remove from the oven and place the 
  pans on racks to cool. To remove the Amaretti from the papers, turn the 
  papers over with the Amaretti still adhering to them and wet the papers 
  with hot water, using a brush. Leave a few minutes, then pull on the papers 
  to release the Amaretti. 
   
  HERE ARE 2 VARIATIONS OF AMARETTI: Amaretti di Pinoli: After moistening the 
  piped Amaretti, strew them with pine nuts, sprinkling them on heavily, then 
  pressing lightly with the fingertips so that the pine nuts adhere. Do not 
  dust with sugar. Bake as for the Amaretti. Fior di Mandorla: This variation 
  of Amaretti is popular in Southern Italy and Sicily, where the mixture is 
  sometimes colored green or pink during the mixing. Their rough, craggy 
  appearance is a nice contrast to the smoothness of the standard Amaretti. 
  Prepare the Amaretti, up to, and including, moistening them with the towel. 
  Dust heavily with confectioners' sugar and allow the piped mixture to dry 
  at room temperature, uncovered, at least 12 hours, or overnight. After they 
  have dried, indent each of the piped mounds with the thumb, first and 
  middle fingers of one hand, positioning them equidistant around the 
  circumference, and pinching gently inward, about half way into the center. 
  Bake the Fior di Mandorla at 375F, about 15-to-20 minutes. Cool and loosen 
  the Fior di Mandorla as for the Amaretti. 
   
  NICK MALGIERI - PRODIGY GUEST CHEFS COOKBOOK