Crisp, not to say hard, macaroon-like biscuit (US: cookie) made from ground apricot kernels or ground sweet and bitter almonds and stiffly whipped egg whites, with a strong flavour of almonds. They can also be added to savoury dishes. For the British part of the fun of amaretti is not simply the delectable biscuit but, at the end of a meal, flattening out the delicate papers in which they are traditionally wrapped, rolling them into a funnel, lighting the top and watching them sail up to the ceiling. The manufacturers of amaretti may be unaware that British sales are decidely increased by this activity, so they should be judicious about any proposed changes to the wrappers. We have heard rumours of wax paper which fill us with misery.

A Sardinian name for amaretti. Macaroon-like biscuits (US: cookies) made from apricot kernels or bitter almonds and stiffly whipped egg whites.

A generic name for over 500 patent bitter liqueurs from Italy, varying in hue from dark brown to pale gold.  Amari are made from various combinations of herbs, plants, nuts, fruits and their pits and peels, as well as bark.  Angelica, fennel, and elderflowers are but a few of the ingredients steeped in neutral spirits or wine in the making of amari.  They are bitter-sweet in taste, very dry and are often diluted and served with ice as aperitifs or customarily offered neat as digestives after dinners, historically to aid in digestion, and for settling the stomach, particularly after consuming heavy and rich foods.  Containing both iron and quinine, amaro's complex flavor lends itself well to mixing in cocktails to balance with the sweetness of accompanying spirits and amari are famously served up with a twist of orange peel and an espresso or in classic cocktails such as the Negroni.  Campari, Fernet Branca, and Amaro de Montenegro, Lucano, and Averna are examples of amari.