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Italian Almond Cookies (Ricciarelli)

An elegant almond cookie dating back to 14th century Siena, Italy.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Resting Time 12 hours
Total Time 8 hours 48 minutes
Servings: 27 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 lemon juice, hand squeezed
  • 1 2/3 cups icing sugar (unsifted), for cooking
  • 1 cup icing sugar, for dusting
  • 2 cups + 1 tbsp almond flour
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 grated zest 1 orange

Method
 

Night before
  1. Whisk egg whites and lemon juice together until a stiff peak forms.
  2. Mix in 1 2/3 icing sugar and almond flour. Add almond extract, vanilla extract and grated orange zest.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning
  1. Line a large cooking sheet with parchment paper. Sift icing powder to lightly coat the pan.
  2. Form oval shaped cookies with your hands, about half an inch thick (1 cm). Place in rows on the pan.
  3. Using your fingers, lightly tap each cookie with water. Sift remaining icing sugar over freshly laid cookies before cooking.
  4. Heat oven to 320 degrees. Cook for 18 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Cookies will be very soft when out of the oven. You may think that they're not cooked, but they will harden. Best enjoyed the next day!