A little background about Amaretto from HomeCooking: Amaretto is a liqueur with an almond flavor, but surprisingly, it may or may not contain almonds. The standard base of the liqueur is primarily made from apricot pits, and may contain any number of added spices and flavorings. The original version was made in Saronno, Italy. Amaretto is Italian for "a little bitter."
Amaretto History
The Lazzaroni family of Saronno, Italy, claims the title as the inventors of amaretto. They invented the Lazzaroni amaretto cookies around 1786 for the King of the region. Then in 1851, they created the Amaretto Liqueur, which consisted of an infusion of their cookies with a little caramel for color.
Another legend from the Reina family (who formerly worked for the Lazzaroni family) tells of amaretto being created by a widow who posed for Renaissance painter Bernardino Luini in 1525. The widow fell in love with the painter and made her amaretto potion for him. Her original recipe has purportedly been handed down from generation to generation without change and is currently marketed as Disaronno® Originale Liqueur.
Whatever the source, this wonderful liqueur of love goes well with chocolate. What doesn't go well with chocolate? Here's an easy recipe for Amaretto Truffles. Make some today.
AMARETTO TRUFFLES
Ingredients
4 Tbsp sweet butter
14 cups whipping cream 5 Tbsp Amaretto
12 ounces dark chocolate (70-75% cacao, organic, fair-trade)
ground or crushed almonds (or hazelnuts)
Directions
Heat butter and cream in top of double boiler. (185-210 degrees-if you have a thermometer). Don't boil.
Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons Amaretto and all the dark chocolate.
Return to heat and stir until chocolate is melted (not very long).
Stir in rest of Amaretto.
Pour into mixing bowl and refrigerate 2 hours until firm.
Roll with hands into 1-inch balls.
Freeze until very firm (about 30 minutes).
Roll in ground almonds or hazelnuts
Store in refrigerator -or eat right away!
Here's a Vintage 1977 Ad for Amaretto.
3 comments:
These look delicious I love amaretto!
So sad I missed amaretto day. I'll celebrate this weekend though!
This looks like an easy recipe. Great for a Mother's Day gift. :-)
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