Ricciarelli cookie recipe comes from Tuscany. They are melt in your mouth tender almond flavored cookies. Their beautiful white tops make a great addition to any cookie platter and they are gluten free.
Happy Hump Day!
You may be a mom. Maybe you’re not. But I’m guessing you had a mom, right? I’m a mom. And what’s generally known about moms must make dozens and dozens of holiday cookies.
Moms are also known to carry extra tissues and ‘gently” remind us to wipe our noses, to anticipating and quickly reacting to cars in front of us that abruptly put on their brakes, we throw our protective arm across the chest of our unsuspecting passenger ensuring our cubs will be protected from danger. My cubs laugh every time I do this, since the both are over 6’3″ and 200 pounds, as if my measly arm will save them, but instinct is instinct no matter how big the cub grows.
No matter how big my cubs grow, I still love to make them holiday cookies. I have several recipes from my Mom that I make every year, like Pecan Balls and Buckeyes, and I also have a few my Mother-n-law shared with me that her family brought back from Italy, like her Italian Pignoli Cookie and Anisette Italian Cookies.
This Ricciarelli cookie recipe is also an old traditional Italian cookie, created in Tuscany in the town of Siena. It is still traditionally given as a Christmas gift to friends and acquaintances.
This is a perfect recipe to get the kids involved, just a few ingredients, they have to use their hands and let’s face it, dusting cookies with powdered sugar is just plain fun!
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Ricciarelli {gluten free}
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoon almond flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar + more for dusting
- 1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest from organic orange
- 2 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1 3/4 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Pour almond flour, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and the orange zest in a medium bowl and toss together.
- In an electric mixer add egg whites and whip with whsk attachment on high until soft peaks start to form.
- Using a spatula gently fold in egg whites and stir gently to combine.
- Add in honey, almond extract, vanilla extract and mix until well blended. Should have a stiff and sticky consistency.
- Place remaining 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar in a small bowl.
- Pinch of dough and roll into 2 teaspoon size balls. Roll balls in confectioners sugar and place on cookie sheets. dividing balls on each baking sheet, about 12 each.
- You can then pinch the end of balls making the traditional diamond shape.
- Let cookies sit uncovered for 1-2 hours to firm up and dry out a little.
- Preheat oven to 325°. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time in the middle of oven for about 12 minutes, or until cookies begin to get tinged with golden brown around edges.
- Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely and then dust with additional confectioners sugar.
Hello, I’m thinking of baking these cookies for a friend, how long do you think they last out of the cold?
Hi Matilde, Do you mean stored at room temperature? They will hold up in a cool room covered for one week. If they are in the heat, the powdered sugar will get messy.