Soft Amaretti Cookies

After lots of research searching for an authentic Italian almond cookie recipe for christmas cookie baking, I've ended up with this recipe for soft amaretti. I was shocked to discover the lack of fat necessary in the recipe! You can make the traditional 1" balls or you can make slightly larger balls, with a thumbprint in the middle and half a marischino cherry.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 1/2 cups of almond flour
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 large pinches morten salt
• Egg whites from 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  

RESERVE FOR TOP

• 2/3 cup confectioners sugar for rolling

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. I recommend using airbake pans with parchment paper for this to avoid heavy browning.
2. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, sugar and salt and whisk or stir until combined.
3. Using the whisk attachment on a mixer, whisk egg whites and lemon juice until they hold peaks.
4. Change mixer head from whisk to paddle beater and add almond extract, then gradually add dry ingredients to the egg whites, (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer running on the lowest setting. The dough will be stiff and a little sticky, and not feel like normal cookie dough.
5. Lightly dust your hands with powdered sugar. Pinch dough from bowl then roll into a smooth 1-inch ball. Don't overwork, it doesn't have to be a perfect ball. Then roll the ball in powdered sugar. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch of space between cookies. They won't spread much.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Watch them closely for the first batch you make. They should be just barely starting to brown on the bottom (you shouldn't be able to see the browning, but if you lift one up, you'd see a little light brown spot on the bottom of the cookie) and cracks formed on the top. 
7. Makes 40 cookies, keeps for 5 days in airtight container.