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Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds

Posted by in Step-by-Step Recipes

Help me welcome our new guest contributor, Three Many Cooks, stopping by to share with us an easy (yet unforgettable) dessert that Pam Anderson makes and that her daughter Maggy just can’t get out of her head. Read on and you might start dreaming about it too. Take it away, TMC! So glad to have you and your wonderfulness here on the TK Blog. –Ree/PW

 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

 
Ever tasted something so good that the memory stuck with you for days, weeks or even months? A meal so incredibly delicious that you’re still thinking about it years later? I get this a lot. I usually pine for the pizza I once had at Dar Poeta in Rome, or warm clotted cream and scones with jam from the English countryside in Devon. I’ve often thought of the best grilled cheese I ever had when I was eight years old at a friend’s house, or my grandmother’s banana pudding. I want nothing more than to eat these things again. But sadly, with these dishes, the secret ingredient(s) evades me. They are simply impossible to recreate.

But there was this one dessert my mom made for us back at the beginning of March that I was still thinking about months later in August. She said it was called Semifreddo. “What the heck,” I asked, “is a Semifreddo?” She told me it’s Italian for “semi-frozen.” Semifeddo is an ice cream-based dessert that has whipped cream folded in, preventing it from freezing solid. So it’s soft and creamy and easy to fold in delicious add-ins, like chocolate and almonds.

Unlike the other unforgettable, un-recreateable meals and foods in my life, this one was easy. Oh so easy. I had a recipe, readily accessible ingredients and I could make it myself in less than 20 minutes. It was just as amazing the second time around. So good that I kept sneaking to the freezer with a spoon and stealing just one more bite. The English have a word for things like this Semifreddo: “More-ish”—because you just want more. It’s highly addictive and incredible delicious. So I thought I would share it with you too.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Start by coarsely crushing the biscuits and rough chopping the chocolate and almonds.

You can use regular roasted almonds; we just found some dark chocolate almonds at the store and thought the extra chocolate could only help, not hinder (for the record, we were right about that).

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Place the crushed amaretti cookies in a medium bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons almond liqueur. Add almonds and chocolate and toss to coat again.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Whip cream and 1 tablespoon almond liqueur with an electric mixer to stiff peaks in a medium bowl.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Fold the softened ice cream into cookie mixture. You can use a spatula or a spoon, but my mom has always considered her hands her favorite kitchen utensil and she’s got the scars to prove it.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Once that mixture is completely incorporated, gently fold in whipped cream.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds. Guest post by Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, recipe from Three Many Cooks.

Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, divide the Semifreddo between eight goblets or bowls or cover and freeze until serving. Garnish with chocolate shavings if you like.

I wish I could recreate all of the memorable foods and meals of my life, but for now, I’m happy to sit with a big bowl of this.

 
 

Printable Recipe

Amaretti Semifreddo with Chocolate and Toasted Almonds

See post on ThreeManyCooks’s site!
5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)1 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 51 vote, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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Description

The best simple dessert you will ever make.

Ingredients

  • 2-½ ounces, weight Amaretti Cookies (about 25 Cookies), Coarsely Crushed (about 1 1/4 Cups)
  • 3 Tablespoons Almond Liqueur, Such As Disaronno, Divided
  • ¼ cups Coarsely Chopped Salted Or Unsalted Roasted Almonds
  • 2 ounces, weight Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped Into Small Chunks
  • ½ cups Heavy Cream
  • 1 pint Premium Vanilla Ice Cream, Softened Slightly (microwave On High Power For 15 To 30 Seconds)

Preparation Instructions

Place cookies in a medium bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the almond liqueur over the cookies; toss to coat. Add almonds and chocolate; toss to coat again. Whip cream and remaining 1 tablespoon almonds liqueur to stiff peaks in a medium bowl; set aside. Fold softened ice cream into cookie mixture until completely incorporated. Gently fold in cream. Spoon into goblets and serve or cover and freeze until ready to serve.

 
 
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Three Many Cooks is the always-entertaining food blog of Pam Anderson and her two daughters, Maggy and Sharon. Pam is a well-known and much-respected food writer and author, Maggy is a “hippy adventurer meets 1950s housewife,” and Sharon refers to herself as a recovering food snob learning to survive on a graduate student’s budget. Theirs is a strong relationship both inside and outside the kitchen, and it shows in the food they create and the stories they tell.

 

18 Comments

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Rhonda (thedaintybaker) on 8.30.2010

This is making my mouth drool!! YUM YUM YUM!

Tracy =) on 8.30.2010

Want this now!!! I might try it this coming weekend =)

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ivoryhut on 8.24.2010

As one who has actually tasted this, I can attest to its awesomeness. It is incredibly creamy and yet light, and all the wonderful crunchies in it make it even better. And thanks for the heads up on the dark chocolate coated almonds. I didn’t even realize those existed!

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The Noshery on 8.24.2010

This looks kind of amazing and I love that you don’t need an ice cream maker.

Sim on 8.24.2010

Seems good huh…

Elizabeth on 8.23.2010

All I can say is WOW! This looks incredible, I’m going to make it as a special treat for my new boyfriend this weekend. He’s going to be a very happy man.
x

Stephanie on 8.23.2010

This look so so delicious! I’m going to make it for a romantic dinner…

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DessertForTwo on 8.23.2010

I’m so happy the TCM girls are contributors! :)

Debbie on 8.23.2010

Thank you for the clarification!

Alice on 8.23.2010

Oh my… oh my! I’ve never had a semifreddo but now I’m curious and hungry. Thanks ladies.. awesome post!

AGinTO on 8.23.2010

WOW! That looks so tasty…and fancy! And it doesn’t require an ice cream maker, which is nice!
I have an ice cream maker, but can’t always get it to cooperate with me! :)
So this is quite nice!

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ThreeManyCooks on 8.23.2010

Thanks for catching that, Debbie! Don’t know what happened there -it’s all fixed now. 2 tablespoons in the cookies and 1 tablespoon in the whipped cream as the photo directions say.

Debbie on 8.23.2010

Could you clarify the amaretto amounts please? You use 2 tablespoons with the cookies and 1 tablespoon with the whipped cream. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons in the ingredient list but in the directions, asks for one quarter cup to be used with the cookies and 2 tablespoons with the whipped cream. Thank you.

Tabitha (FromSingletoMarried) on 8.23.2010

Oh my heavens this looks amazing!!!

marisa miller on 8.23.2010

Can I just eat the cookies, liqueur and chocolate. Then try again with the semifreddo later? :)

Courtney on 8.23.2010

I could so eat a bowl of this right now!

Heather (Heather's Dish) on 8.23.2010

i am obsessed with all things italian…i am bookmarking this and adding three many cooks to my reader! beautiful!

Jessica @ How Sweet on 8.23.2010

That looks absolutely incredible!