Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord. ~Elise

The first time I had amaretti was in the Piazza San Marco in Venice. I stumbled upon a small cart selling a variety of ornate confections. Yet amongst all the tinsel and colorful sugar my eyes were drawn to a small cellophane bag tied with a small bit of gold ribbon. In it were little pale cookies that looked ordinary but enticing none the less. When opened the bag released a heady perfume that overtook me and those around me. Its sweet almond aroma always takes me back to the Piazza and its surrounding cobbled streets and bridges.

Amaretti are little cookies that are light as a feather, yet have an intense sweet almond flavor. They’re airy, delicate, and oh so simple to make. The recipe takes no more than 4 minutes to put together and they bake quickly. They taste fantastic on their own, but I’ve also been known to grind them up into a powder and add it to flavor pumpkin bread in lieu of cinnamon and spices, or add them to the batter of vanilla cakes or pancakes to give it depth in flavor.

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