Italian Amaretti

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Crumble almond paste into a large mixing bowl. Beat in the egg whites and sugar until smooth. The batter should be soft and sticky—if not, add in an extra egg white.

Put the nuts in a separate bowl. Drop a scant tablespoon of batter into the nuts and roll into a ball, coating completely with the nuts. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for 18–20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes and transfer to racks.

Dust cooled cookies with colored confectioners sugar if desired.