Ricciarelli – Chewy Almond Cookies
Ricciarelli are a dense, chewy delicious Italian cookie. These cookies are similar to a macaron, but much easier to make. We love authentic Italian cookies in our home like classic biscotti or Italian Anise Cookies or even a soft biscotti.
Ricciarelli – Chewy Almond Cookies
Ingredients for Ricciarelli
2 egg whites
2-1/4 almond flour
1-3/4 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ baking powder
1 tsp orange zest
1 TBSP almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup powdered sugar for rolling cookies
***All purpose flour can be substituted in lieu of almond flour but will be a different texture.
Directions for Ricciarelli
Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder and add in 3 batches to the egg whites trying to keep some air in the batter. The batter will be sticky.
Add the orange zest and extracts and fold in to combine.
Line your baking sheets with silicon mats and roll cookies about 1-inch and then roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place on the prepared sheets with some room in between, press down slightly.
Let the cookies stand out at room temperature for about an hour until the tops of the cookies have formed a hard shell.
Pre-crack the cookies by pressing on wither end to “crack the shell”.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes and cool.
These cookies will keep in an air-tight container for about a week.
PREP TIME: 30 minutes
COOK YIME: 20 minutes
DRYING TIME: 60 minutes
SERVINGS: 20 cookies
Italian Recipes
Italian Cheesecake
Savory Italian Ricotta San Marzano DOP Appetizer
Soft Italian Biscotti
Classic Almond Biscotti
Italian Anise Cookies
How to Bake in Batches to Make the Most of Your Baking Time
One way to handle your holiday baking is to bake in batches, then freeze and store for the big day. You can do this successfully over a couple of weeks with batch baking and batch preparing.
The biggest thing to remember is to only try a few different types of things in one day, or focus on just one type of baked good in one day. For example, you might want to bake all your quick breads in one day. Another day you can prepare all your cookie dough. Yet another time, you can bake all your fruit pies and so forth. This process makes the most of the time you have, the space you have, and your skill level.
Be Prepared
Don’t try batch baking without a plan of action. Be sure to write down your plans in advance so that you are sure you have enough time to do everything that you’ve planned. To figure out a basic time line, add up the prep time, the baking time for each oven full, and then multiply that by 1.5 to account for a little extra issues happening. Then you should be sure that you have enough time.
Get Everything Ready to Go
Your kitchen should be spotless when you start, and ensure that you have all the ingredients and appliances necessary to make each item ready to go. If you know, for example, that today you’ll be using about 10 pounds of flour, consider using a large bowl to hold the flour so you can easily spoon the flour into the measuring cup, flatten off over the bowl, without having to get into the bag over and over which usually means spillage.
Clean as You Go
Fill your sink immediately with hot soapy water so you can clean as you go. You will want to wash your mixing dishes and other utensils during the baking process so that you can use them again. There’s no point in totally destroying your kitchen as you batch bake, and you don’t have to. Set out a draining board, fill the sink with hot soapy water, and wash as you go. There are many opportunities during baking to wash a couple of dishes, and this will make the clean-up faster, and the process more organized.
All Day Batch Baking
You can set aside a day for batch baking such as a Saturday. Plan for all day baking, which usually entails 8 to 10 hours of work. Ensure that any other chores are done, including the shopping, and the kitchen is clean and ready prior to baking day. It’s important to organize your recipes with some logic behind them. For example, if you need dough to rise, start that first, so that it can be rising as you are preparing other things such as cookie dough or pie crusts. Both can be put in the refrigerator or freezer after preparation while you bake the bread, then baked after you bake the bread while the oven is still hot and ready.