Ricciarelli: Chewy Italian Almond Cookies
Image: @twistsandzests
Ricciarelli cookies are dense, chewy Italian almond sweets originating in Siena. They are a distant, and much less fussy, Italian cousin to the French macaron — perfect with tea or coffee!
My son in law has a serious dairy allergy. Ricciarelli are dairy-free and gluten free (he loves them) cookies! My daughter, Francesca, discovered them at Market Hall, in Rockridge, and found this recipe to make them for him.
We lost Francesca on December 1, 2020 to cancer, unexpectedly. She was teaching her Lower East Side students online from Pleasant Hill that morning. We make secret version of these cookies to raise funds through Friends and Family Bar (Temescal) in Oakland. All funds, including our GoFundMe page for Franky’s Fund, contribute to a memorial scholarship fund for single teen mothers who wish to go to college and for whom English is not a first language.
Ricciarelli cookies from Siena, Italy, have an unmistakable elegant almond flavour, a lovely dense chewiness, and a beautifully crackled surface. One of these cookies is perfect with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea, or, if you want to live in true Italian style, a cappuccino.
Think of Ricciarelli cookies as a cousin to the French macaron, with a light, crunchy exterior and chewy interior.
Getting perfectly crackled Ricciarelli cookies
That dried-out shell on the cookie dough is vital to getting the beautifully craggy, crackled effect on the outside as well. With Ricciarelli, you roll each ball of dough in powdered sugar before baking. As it cooks, the dough on the inside expands and breaks through the dried exterior, allowing golden cracks to show through the white outside.
However, sometimes the cookies need a little help in getting the crackled effect. The first time I made these, the dough was practically drying out by the time I got them on the cookie sheet and cracked very easily on their own. The second time I made them, even though I left them on the counter for two hours instead of one, the cookies needed some assistance to get the cracked texture.
I lightly squeezed each cookie from opposite corners until I was satisfied with the cracks I could see forming in the tops of the unbaked cookies. Then, instead of relying on the expanding dough to create the cracks, they just have to enhance the ones you already made.
I’ve demonstrated below on the baked cookies how I squeezed the unbaked dough balls to crackle the shells. Feel free to lightly press down on the tops or whatever you need to do to get those cracks started!
It’s basically like when you slice the top of your bread dough before baking. If you don’t, the dough will still expand and crack, but it might not be where you want it to. (In the case of the cookies, I found without pre-cracking the dough, it will mostly crack on the bottoms of the cookies rather than the tops, which isn’t nearly as pretty)
Getting the ideal flavour and texture
Several rounds of recipe testing gave me these results:
The amount of orange (or any kind of citrus) zest you use is a very personal choice, and I advise that you do what you think is right for you!
Humidity is an important factor that will affect texture. If you’re baking these on a rainy day, let them dry out a half hour longer than usual.
I use the freshest organic ingredients I can find and have never been disappointed.
Ingredients
2 egg whites
1 dash lemon juice
2 1/4 cups almond flour
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp orange zest about half a large orange
1 tbsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar for coating cookies
Instructions
Whip egg whites and lemon juice together with a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift in almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder and fold into egg whites.
I do this in 2-3 batches, slowly, to try to keep the egg whites light.
Add orange zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract and fold in until combined.
At this point, the batter will form a sticky dough and will not resemble the fluffy meringue of a few steps earlier.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using clean hands, roll dough into balls about 1" in diameter, then roll in powdered sugar until well coated.
Arrange on baking sheet with some space between them for spreading.
Leave at room temperature for about an hour or until the tops have dried out and formed almost a little shell. (This may take longer in humid areas).
While cookies are drying, preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Flatten each ball a little to form little cracks on the sides. Doing this won't affect the taste, but gives them a beautiful white-gold contrast when baked).
Bake for about 20 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.
They are better the next day and are great with coffee or tea!
Lessons from my Mother:
Vanilla extract is your secret weapon for any sweet dessert.
I used organic sugar, just because.
When measuring dry goods, such as sugar and flour, never pack your measuring cup unless the instructions tell you to. Lightly spoon your ingredients into the correct measuring cup, and level with the back of a straight-edged knife. This will ensure consistent and accurate measurements every time.
Sifting is important because it ensures all your dry ingredients are fully incorporated, prevents surprise flavors from showing up when eating, and ensures even cooking. For example, you don’t want to bite into a tiny salt pocket in your cookie.
Use parchment paper when preparing your cookie sheets. It’s easy, doesn’t stick, feels clean and you will know your ingredients are exact.
I like to use extra large eggs in all my recipes because they give added richness.
Always cool your cookies after removing from the oven on a wire rack. The wire rack allows air to circulate around your cookie, allowing it to develop fully. By not using a wire rack, or allowing air to circulate above and below your cookie, you will have a cookie with a mushy center or it will be hard.
Some of the products I used in this recipe are:
