Ridiculously Easy Orange Cranberry Amaretti Cookies

For the prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
2. Line a sheet pan or cookie pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Add ⅓ cup cane (or regular granulated) sugar to a flat-bottomed bowl. This will be used for rolling the dough balls before baking. Set aside for now.

For the dough:

1. Whisk the egg whites vigorously in a medium lage bowl or 1 minute (don’t cheat!). The mixture will be very frothy and a pale, pale yellow.
2. Add the sugar and whisk for another minute (I set a timer). At this point, the mixture will be very smooth and creamy white (a little thicker than heavy cream).
3. Switch to a spatual now and add the baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add the vanilla and almond extracts along with the orange zest and chopped cranberries. Stir again.
4. Lastly, add the almond flour (spoon the flour into your measuring cup as you go, then level it with a flat-edged knife). Stir until the flour is incorporated.
5. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then scoop into 10-12 equal-size scoops (I like to make mine around 35-40g each which is slightly over an ounce to an ounce and a half).
6. Scoop up a few portions at a time, and place them right into the prepared bowl of cane (or granulated) sugar. Turn each dough ball to coat with the sugar, then roll them into balls. Use a light hand while rolling.
7. Place the balls on the prepared sheet pan, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for a bit of expansion. If I’m not planning to dust the cookies with powdered sugar, after baking, I like to sprinkle each cookie with a bit more of the cane sugar.

To bake:

1. Bake for 18-22 minutes. The cookies won’t take on much color but the bottoms should be a nice light golden brown.
2. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

To finish (optional):

1. When completely cool, use a fine-mesh sieve or a powdered sugar duster to add a pretty layer of powdered sugar. I like to pick up each cookie and rotate it to get the sides covered with powdered sugar.