10x Italian sweets with almonds
Italians are kings of sweet pastries. Walk into any bar or bakery and you’ll have an entire display case to choose from. And what’s in many of those cakes and cookies? Almonds. We’ve collected the tastiest Italian almond sweets for you.
Amaretti
Amaretti are cookies that you can eat as dessert with your dessert wine, or simply straight from the bag. The great thing is: if you make amaretti yourself, you actually only need four ingredients. Eggs, sugar, almonds and amaretto. That last ingredient is what makes them pair so well with your final sweet glass of wine of the evening.
Almond granita
Technically, this isn’t a cookie or pastry, but it absolutely cannot be left off the list of ‘Italian almond sweets’. Granita is a water ice that is shaved into something resembling snow, or slushy. In Italy, you eat it for breakfast, with coffee on the side. Go for the best almond paste you can find, or better yet, make it yourself. In this recipe for almond paste, you blanch the almonds before grinding them; you can make the granita like this.
Bruttiboni
Brutti ma buoni means ‘ugly but delicious’. And that’s exactly what bruttiboni are. Ugly, but so delicious that they’re beautiful. They’re also very sweet, so you can certainly use a little less sugar in your recipe if you like. The almond cookies are often eaten together with cantucci and a glass of vin santo on the side.
Torrone
When you take a bite of this sticky goodness, you can see the large pieces of almonds. They go into the nougat mixture whole, together with honey, orange, almond and vanilla extract. Watch out: before you know it, you’ll have eaten yourself sick.
Cantucci
Also known as cantuccini. You need a sturdy set of jaws for these cookies, because they’re hard nuts… er, cookies, to crack. Delicious with large pieces of almond in them. Here too, a glass of sweet vin santo is never out of place.
Panforte
This sweet slice cake full of dried fruit and nuts is quintessentially Italian, and comes in various colours and shapes. In general, however, the filling consists of a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts, dried figs and candied orange pieces. Add winter spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and you have a perfect dessert for Christmas dinner.
Torta caprese
A rich, comforting chocolate cake unlike any you’ve ever eaten before. Seriously, try this torta caprese. Instead of flour, almond flour is used, making it wonderfully moist. Allerhande shows you how to make a Torta caprese.
Ricciarelli
Do you like macarons? Is the chewy part of a meringue your favourite? Look no further: this Italian almond cookie is perfect for you. Mixing stiffly whipped egg whites with, among other things, ground almonds gives you a deliciously nutty, airy end result. And they only need fifteen minutes in the oven, so there’s no excuse not to make them yourself.
Bocconotto
Bocconotto are filled pastries. The filling varies by region, but in Abruzzo it often consists of cocoa, cinnamon and roasted almonds. Every family has its own recipe that is ‘the best in all of Italy’, so perhaps you should simply try different versions. Like this bocconotto, with rhubarb and Grand Marnier.
Ciarduna
They look very much like the beloved cannoli, but they really are ciarduna. The big difference lies in the ‘shell’: cannoli are made from fried dough, while ciarduna are made from almond cookies. Like cannoli, ciarduna are filled with ricotta, but sometimes with cream or mascarpone as well.
