These almond biscuits – crunchy on the outside, soft and sticky in the centre – are the perfect way to use left-over egg whites. After making a decadent pasta bake that required three egg yolks, making these lovely chewy Amaretti biscuits just seemed like the logical next step. But don’t worry if your cravings have been awakened and you don’t have any egg whites left over. Just separate some new eggs and save the yolks for later – to make a decadent pasta bake, for example.

Ingredients (for a tin full of biscuits):

255 g ground almonds

250 g white sugar

pinch of salt

3 egg whites

12 ml Amaretto liqueur

juice of 1/2 lemon

a drop of vanilla extract

a few drops of almond extract

• Heat the oven to 175 degrees
• Mix the ground almonds with the salt and sugar.
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the almond mixture.
• Add the Amaretto, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract and gently mix into a paste.
• Cover one or two baking trays with baking paper and use a teaspoon to make little heaps. They will expand in the oven, so make sure to leave some room inbetween.

• Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Take out of the oven and leave to cool before transferring them to an airtight container or biscuit tin.