These are also known as Amaretti biscuits, and you can use Amaretto liqueur (or port etc) instead of the almond essence if you wish.

We do them because many of the recipes we use are heavy on the eggyolks, leaving large amounts of spare eggwhite. The biscuits are an elegant solution, and happen to be delicious.

Authenticity? Almond meal was used extensively, and medievals had the same excess of eggwhites. The biscuits are documented in Italy from the mid-1600s and supposedly had arabic origins before that, which is completely plausible.

6 egg whites
500g almond meal
300g caster sugar, preferably the raw or brown kind
2 tsp almond essence, ideally incl some bitter almond essence
Some icing sugar

Beat egg whites to firm peaks. Add the almond meal, sugar and almond essence and beat to a thick paste. Roll into balls, then in icing sugar and place on trays on baking paper. Squish down a bit. Bake at 150 deg C; check for a golden colour after 15 minutes.