Amaretti are small, almond-flavored Italian cookies made from ground almonds or apricot kernels, sugar, and egg whites, with a crisp exterior and a soft or chewy center depending on the recipe.
The most famous version, Amaretti di Saronno, comes from Saronno in Lombardy, where a local legend traces the cookie to 1718 and ties it to the Lazzaroni family, who still produce them from a closely guarded recipe. The name comes from the Italian "amaro" (bitter), referring to the bitter almond or apricot-kernel flavor at their core, though most modern versions taste sweeter than the name suggests. Amaretti are eaten on their own with coffee or dessert wine, crumbled as a topping for gelato and panna cotta, or used as a base ingredient in tiramisu and other Italian desserts.