Ricciarelli (Sienese Christmas Cookies)
photo by JustEmma
- Ready In:
- 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
12-16 Cookies
ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- 6 ounces ground almonds (Almond Flour or Meal)
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups icing sugar (Powdered Sugar)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- brandy or Amaretto
- 1⁄2 oranges, zest of or 1 lemon, zest of
- 1 tablespoon candied orange or 1 tablespoon lemon peel
- 12 ounces of good dark chocolate
directions
- Sieve together the Icing Sugar, Flour and Baking Power into a bowel, then mix in the Ground Almonds.
- In a separate bowl, add a couple of drops of almond extract to the egg whites and then whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Stir the stiffened egg whites into the dry mixture until a sticky 'dough' is formed.
- If you are trying the options, at this point add either a tablespoon of mixed orange/lemon peel OR the zest of half a lemon/orange OR a tablespoon of Rum, Brandy or Amaretto.
- Sprinkle a board with sifted Icing Sugar and take a desertspoon full of the dough, roll in the Icing Sugar and form into a ball. Flatten the ball a little with the back of a fork. Continue until all your dough is gone (the amount above should make 12-16 cookies).
- Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and place your dough balls on, taking care to leave space for 'spread' during cooking.
- Pop into an oven that's been preheated to Gas Mark 6 (200C, 390F) until golden brown. This should take approximately 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool completely. If you are intending to dip the cookies in chocolate, at this stage you should melt very good quality dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa solids) in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and dip the cooled cookies inches Return them to the tray and cool off in the fridge or a cool place until chocolate is set.
- Ricciarelli keep for a few weeks in an airtight container.
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Reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I find cooking very relaxing and love to experiment. My food hero is Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall; the idea of growing your own veg and rearing your own animals in a free-range, organic way is very appealing.
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<br>When not cooking I work from home for a tech company in Finland, love animals, old cars, travel and good restaurants!
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<br>How I rate recipes:
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<br>5 * Recipe worked perfectly, no substitutes needed and family raved about it.
<br>4 * Recipe worked well, a few substitutes were made to suit taste. Family loved it.
<br>3 * Recipe worked fairly well, a few changes to technique or substitutions were needed. Family liked it.
<br>2 * Recipe didn't work particularly well. It was edible but wouldn't cook again.
<br>1* Recipe didn't work at all. It wasn't edible and we wouldn't cook again.
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<br>This is Izzy, she's our 1973 EMPI GTV Conversion
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