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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
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 27 cookies

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

Instructions

Night before

  • Whisk egg whites and lemon juice together until a stiff peak forms.
  • Mix in 1 2/3 icing sugar and almond flour. Add almond extract, vanilla extract and grated orange zest.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning

  • Line a large cooking sheet with parchment paper. Sift icing powder to lightly coat the pan.
  • Form oval shaped cookies with your hands, about half an inch thick (1 cm). Place in rows on the pan.
  • Using your fingers, lightly tap each cookie with water. Sift remaining icing sugar over freshly laid cookies before cooking.
  • 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!