These traditional Italian Christmas cookies are originally from Siena, a town in the Tuscan countryside of Italy. They are light, chewy and very easy to make. They go very well with tea, coffee, sweet wine or Vin Santo, a traditional dessert wine, one of the most characteristic wines from Tuscany.
what you need:
- 2 egg whites (75 gr/2.7oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 200 gr / 7oz almond flour (about 2 cups)
- 100gr / 3.5 oz powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon orange zest OR any citrus of your choice such as lemon, lime, or clementines (orange is my favorite)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar in a bowl, for coating the cookies
- Yields about 18/20 cookies
what to do:
- Sift together the almond flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Reserve.
- Beat the egg whites and lemon juice until you get soft peaks.
- Add the orange zest, vanilla and almond extract and beat into the eggs until incorporated. Just a few seconds.
- Slowly fold the mix of dry ingredients to the eggs using a spatula. Mix well. The dough will be thick and sticky, kind of hard to mix.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or your hands to place 1 inch balls of dough in the bowl with the sifted powdered sugar. Roll the dough into a ball and then into an oval shape. Place each oval cookie on the cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart.
- Leave the tray with the cookies at room temperature for 1 hour. If the ambient is too humid add an extra 15 minutes.
- After the resting time, squeeze the sides of each cookie gently to form some small cracks.
- Bake the cookies for 20/23 minutes in pre-heated oven to 150C/300F.
- Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet or they might break as they are very delicate.
- The middle looks a bit like cake and it is deliciously chewy.
- Store in an airtight container for a week, at room temperature.
Ricciarelli Recipe
what you need:
- 2 egg whites (75 gr/2.7oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 200 gr / 7oz almond flour (about 2 cups)
- 100gr / 3.5 oz powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon orange zest OR any citrus of your choice such as lemon, lime, or clementines (orange is my favorite)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yields about 18/20 cookies
what to do:
- Sift together the almond flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Reserve.
- In another bowl beat the egg whites and lemon juice until you get soft peaks.
- Add the orange zest, vanilla and almond extract and beat to the eggs until incorporated. Just a few seconds.
- Slowly fold the mix of dry ingredients to the eggs using a spatula. Mix well. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or your hands to place 1 inch balls of dough in the bowl with the sifted powdered sugar. Roll the dough into a ball and then into an oval shape. Place each oval cookie on the cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart
- Leave the tray with the cookies at room temperature for 1 hour. If the ambient is too humid add an extra 15 minutes.
- After the resting time, squeeze the sides of each cookie gently to form some small cracks.
- Bake the cookies for 20/23 minutes in pre-heated oven to 150C/300F.
- Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet or they might break as they are very delicate.
- Store in an airtight container for a week, at room temperature.
updated Dec 2021
