Ricciarelli Recipes

RICCIARELLI

Steps:

• Combine white sugar and almonds in the bowl of a food processor; pulse into a fine powder. Pour into a bowl.
• Combine 1/4 cup egg whites and vanilla extract in a bowl; add to almond-sugar mixture, mixing as little as possible. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove dough from fridge. Sift 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour onto a clean work surface. Place dough in the center and add remaining 1/4 cup egg whites. Knead egg whites into dough until soft and smooth, adding additional confectioners' sugar and flour as needed.
• Roll portions of dough into 1-inch-thick logs. Take walnut-sized dough pieces from each log and shape into diamonds with slightly wet hands. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet and generously dust with confectioner's sugar. Let rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet before serving.

RICCIARELLI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Add the almonds, baking soda, salt and 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar to a food processor. Process until finely ground, about 1 minute.
• Whisk together the honey, vanilla and egg. Add to the almond mixture and pulse until a stiff dough forms.
• Roll tablespoon-sized portions of dough into balls, and coat in the remaining cup confectioners' sugar. Place at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until cracked and solid to the touch, 18 to 20 minutes. Slide the parchment off the baking sheets and allow the ricciarelli to cool completely before peeling off the paper. Store cookies in a tin or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

RICCIARELLI (SIENESE CHRISTMAS COOKIES)

Steps:

• Sieve together the Icing Sugar, Flour and Baking Power into a bowel, then mix in the Ground Almonds.
• In a separate bowl, add a couple of drops of almond extract to the egg whites and then whisk until stiff peaks form.
• Stir the stiffened egg whites into the dry mixture until a sticky 'dough' is formed.
• If you are trying the options, at this point add either a tablespoon of mixed orange/lemon peel OR the zest of half a lemon/orange OR a tablespoon of Rum, Brandy or Amaretto.
• Sprinkle a board with sifted Icing Sugar and take a desertspoon full of the dough, roll in the Icing Sugar and form into a ball. Flatten the ball a little with the back of a fork. Continue until all your dough is gone (the amount above should make 12-16 cookies).
• Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and place your dough balls on, taking care to leave space for 'spread' during cooking.
• Pop into an oven that's been preheated to Gas Mark 6 (200C, 390F) until golden brown. This should take approximately 10-12 minutes.
• Remove from oven and leave to cool completely. If you are intending to dip the cookies in chocolate, at this stage you should melt very good quality dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa solids) in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and dip the cooled cookies inches Return them to the tray and cool off in the fridge or a cool place until chocolate is set.
• Ricciarelli keep for a few weeks in an airtight container.

RICCIARELLI - TRADITIONAL ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Place the blanched almonds into a nut grinder or food processor fitted with a steel blade; process to a fine powder.
• Transfer to a mixer bowl and mix in the almond paste with an electric mixer. Add the egg white and mix at the lowest speed until thoroughly blended (the dough should be firm). Add the baking powder and the almond extract (and the orange zest if using), and mix until well blended.
• Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough into roughly 1-heaping tablespoonful sized balls. Dust your hands with icing sugar and then roll these balls to form little finger sized logs. Place the ricciarelli logs 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and then flatten slightly. Let stand uncovered at room temperature at least 1 hour or overnight.
• When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 300F degrees.
• Place cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the cookies are a very light tan, 20 to 30 minutes. Take care NOT to bake until brown or crisp, as it is the softness that makes the ricciarelli so delicious!
• Generously dust cookies with additional icing sugar while still warm, then carefully transfer to racks to finish cooling.
• Ricciarelli cookies keep for several weeks in an airtight container.