Ricciarelli

Ricciarelli are an Italian almond crinkle cookie originating in Siena, usually eaten around Christmas but I like to enjoy them all year round. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the shop where ricciarelli were originally made.

This recipe makes 15-20 biscuits. This is a very messy recipe so be prepared, however the soft-yet-firm, chewy, ricciarelli are worth it.

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites (approx. 65g)
• 200g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 200g ground almonds
  • If you can’t find ground almonds, you can blitz blanched whole almonds with a food processor
• 2tbsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 orange, zested

Process

1. Whip the egg whites with squeeze of orange juice to stiff peaks at a high speed
2. Fold in icing sugar and ground almonds until combined
3. Fold in almond extract, vanilla paste, and orange zest until combined
4. Cover bowl with cling film and pop in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.  The longer it is left, the better.
5. Preheat oven at 140C fan assisted.  Prepare a baking tray with baking parchment or a silicone mat.
6. Cover work surface with dusting of icing sugar and turn out the dough.  Roll it in to a long skinny sausage about the circumference of a 2 pence piece (this is about 2.5cm, or an inch).
   • The dough is going to be very sticky.  I found it best to wear powder-free latex/vinyl disposable gloves when working with the dough
7. Cut the dough sausage into pieces about the same width as the circumference.  Roll into a sphere-like shape and place on the baking tray, flattening it slightly.  Place each ricciarello with some space between them as they will grow in the oven.
8. Dust generously with icing sugar.  I use a loose tea strainer so that I have more control over where the icing sugar is going.
9. Bake for 18 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before removing from the baking tray.  Dust with a bit more icing sugar if you have a sweet tooth like me.

Enjoy!

Amazon Associate Links

Most of the baking equipment I used can be found on Amazon, find them here