Vegan Chocolate Amaretti Cookies
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These irresistible gluten-free, vegan chocolate amaretti cookies are incredibly easy to make. Crunchy on the outside, soft and crumbly on the inside, they are the perfect homemade cookies for Christmas!
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Vegan Amaretti Cookies: Made With Chocolate And Delicious!
The other day I was thinking about what homemade Christmas gifts I could make this year, and a batch of delicious homemade cookies came to mind!
There is nothing more irresistible than the smell of a warm batch of cookies coming out of the oven on these cold days!
As I have been experimenting with vegan baking lately, I wanted to make a cookie that was:
- Super easy to make
- It looked amazing to add to any Christmas cookie box
- Delicious to eat
And I remembered my old chewy amaretti recipe!
Every time I brought these amaretti over to a friend’s house for dinner, they would ask me for the recipe.
But I had a couple of challenges:
- This recipe typically uses 2 egg whites.
- I wanted to make it a bit more special for Christmas!
I decided to use flax eggs as a substitute for egg whites to make it vegan!
What is a flax egg?
A flax egg is a vegan egg substitute that is made up of ground flax seeds and water. It’s 100% natural, vegan, and gluten-free.
Flax seeds are very nutritious seeds with some exceptional properties:
- They are very high in fiber
- They aid with digestion
- Rich in omega-3
How Do I make a Flax Egg?
To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes to thicken. It’s that simple!
The mixture will thicken and get jelly-like (like an egg) – and you have your flax egg!
This egg substitute is excellent to bind ingredients, but it will not help as a rising agent as eggs do.
So make sure your recipe uses another rising agent, like baking powder.
And what about some chocolate?
And to make these more memorable for Christmas, there is nothing better than transforming them into chocolate amaretti! A bit of chocolate makes everything unique.
Plus, a touch of powder sugar coating just makes these cookies look like they are covered in snow!
Perfect for the festive season!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Almond flour: This is the base of the amaretti. Make sure to use fine flour (see notes below for extra info).
- Coconut sugar: I updated this recipe and made a batch with coconut sugar, and they came out delicious. But I’ve been successful with raw cane sugar too. And if you only happen to have cater sugar, yes, that’s good as well!
- Cocoa powder: For that extra chocolaty flavor.
- Ground flax seeds: To make out flax eggs!
- Icing sugar: Also known as powdered sugar or confectioners sugar. You’ll just need a tiny bit!
- Baking powder: To give a bit of rising power to the cookies.
A couple of extra notes
Both almond flour and almond meal are made from ground almonds, though they have two subtle differences that set them apart.
– Almond flour is typically made from blanched almonds, which have had the skins removed, while almond meal still has the skins.
– Almond flour is ground more finely than almond meal, which typically has a more coarse grind.
For this recipe, I used almond flour. You can also get great results using almond meal (made from whole ground almonds), although the amaretti texture might be a bit rougher.
Do not attempt this recipe with any other type of flour, or it won’t work!
I used coconut sugar for this recipe as it has a caramel-like flavor that works incredibly well with the chocolate, and it’s slightly healthier than refined white sugar. You can also use raw cane sugar. But in the past, I used caster sugar, and that works well too!
Why I love these vegan chocolate amaretti cookies
- They are soft, fudgy, and delicious
- So easy to make!
- Made with wholesome, natural ingredients
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free
Other Christmas cookie ideas you’ll love
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
- Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Bounty Balls
And for more vegan Christmas recipes, check out my irresistible Christmas recipe collection , or check out these 21 Healthy Christmas Cookies!
If you make this vegan amaretti cookies recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!
Vegan Chocolate Amaretti
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour - (note 1)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar - (note 3)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons icing sugar - for coating
2 flax eggs
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds - (note 5 and 6)
- 6 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320F (160C) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Make the flax eggs: add the ground flax seeds and water to a small bowl and stir. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes to thicken (see notes 5 and 6).
- In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: ground almond flour, baking powder, sugar, and cocoa powder, then add the flax eggs.
- Stir together until combined. It might look like you need to add more water but keep mixing, and if necessary, use your hands. The mixture needs to become like a thick paste that you can roll into sticky balls in your hands.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out a bit of a mixture and roll into a ball. Toss each ball into the icing sugar, coating entirely.
- Place each ball onto the baking tray and gently press it with the palm of your hand to squash it down slightly. Repeat with the remaining dough (you should be able to make 15 cookies).
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven (note 4) and let them cool down before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
Very easy to make. I suggest adding half teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients. Also baking for 13 minutes helped the outside be a bit crunchier without sacrificing a soft interior. I put a tiny bit of glaze and chopped peppermint topping. They look and taste great.
Thanks for the suggestions, Anne!