Today Omni Dallas’ Pastry Chef Kristina Kent shares with us the inspiration behind her
Omni Cookie Collection submission,
Amaretti Cookies. (
More “Omni Cookie Collection” Recipes)
The holidays always remind me of baking with my Italian Nana. We would make pies, rolls, and cookies. The first thing she ever let me do in the kitchen was whip the cream for the pies, and every year when I am making my holiday desserts and whipping that cream, I think of being a little girl baking with my Nana. We would make many different Italian cookies for the holidays, but the amaretti cookies were always my favorite! I loved how I got to smoosh the cookies with my HANDS! I love these cookies so much in fact, that I use my Nana’s recipe here at the hotel, and they are a huge hit! They are just 4 little ingredients, but they pack a super almond punch, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Every time I taste these, I think of the holidays and my Nana. A plus for today’s varied diets; these cookies are gluten and dairy free! Nana was really ahead of the times! Who knew?
~ Pastry Chef Kristina Kent, Omni Dallas Hotel
Amaretti Cookies
12oz almond paste
2oz egg whites
¾ C powdered sugar
½ C granulated sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Put the almond paste in the bowl of your mixer and, with the paddle attachment, paddle to break up
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a sticky dough
4. Scoop the cookies with a cookie scoop (or alternately just scoop with a tablespoon) and roll into a ball. Place the balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly wet your fingers in warm water, and press the cookies down using 2 fingers (you want to see the finger marks)
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until just starting to show color
 Pastry Chef Kristina Kent graduated with honors from The Culinary School at The Arts Institute with a degree in pastry and baking. Kristina put her skills to test for Legends Hospitality at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboy’s, during the 2010-2011 football season. This led to helping prepare over 90,000 pastries for Super Bowl XLV!
Shortly after, Kristina took a position as an assistant at Chocolate Secrets in Dallas. After three months, Kristina was promoted to Pastry Sous Chef, where she was responsible for production of the signature hand painted bonbon collection and the creation of new flavors. She also taught chocolate and wine pairing classes. Her chocolate and bonbon work went on to be featured on the cover of D Magazine.
Kristina took a new position in November of 2012 as pastry cook at Texas Spice restaurant in the Omni Dallas Hotel where she was responsible for the production of all pastries and desserts. Kristina was promoted to Pastry Sous Chef of the Omni Dallas Hotel in June of 2013 and later, Pastry Chef in July of 2014. As her talents have grown, Kristina is one of 17 Texas chefs featured in the 17th edition of Capfruit’s publication, Cap’ Recette.
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Pastry Chef Kristina Kent graduated with honors from The Culinary School at The Arts Institute with a degree in pastry and baking. Kristina put her skills to test for Legends Hospitality at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboy’s, during the 2010-2011 football season. This led to helping prepare over 90,000 pastries for Super Bowl XLV!
Shortly after, Kristina took a position as an assistant at Chocolate Secrets in Dallas. After three months, Kristina was promoted to Pastry Sous Chef, where she was responsible for production of the signature hand painted bonbon collection and the creation of new flavors. She also taught chocolate and wine pairing classes. Her chocolate and bonbon work went on to be featured on the cover of D Magazine.
Kristina took a new position in November of 2012 as pastry cook at Texas Spice restaurant in the Omni Dallas Hotel where she was responsible for the production of all pastries and desserts. Kristina was promoted to Pastry Sous Chef of the Omni Dallas Hotel in June of 2013 and later, Pastry Chef in July of 2014. As her talents have grown, Kristina is one of 17 Texas chefs featured in the 17th edition of Capfruit’s publication, Cap’ Recette.