3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur (You can use more or less to taste.)
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 quart homemade or premium quality vanilla ice cream, softened
Maraschino cherries, drained and halved for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place chopped almonds on a pie plate or small baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 7-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Crush the amaretti cookies into small nuggets. You can do this by putting them in a zip lock bag and smacking them with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Be careful not to turn them into crumbs. Place crumbled cookies in a medium bowl and toss with the almonds. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat cream with an electric mixer until thickened. Pour in the amaretto and whip until medium peaks form. Spoon the cookie mixture into the whipped cream, reserving 3/4 cup or so for topping.
Add the almond extract to the softened ice cream and stir until blended and very smooth. Fold cookie/whipped cream mixture into ice cream.
Spoon into little pastry cups or ramekins. Sprinkle each cup with some of the reserved cookie mixture and top with a cherry.