Ricciarelli

Almond paste rested overnight and baked low, so the icing sugar crust cracks.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 300 g ground almonds
• 300 g caster sugar
• 2 egg whites
• a few drops bitter almond extract
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 teaspoon baking ammonia, or 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 150 g icing sugar, for rolling

Method

1. Mix the ground almonds, caster sugar, zest, salt and raising agent, then work in the whites and the extract to a stiff paste. Stop as soon as it holds together.
2. REST THE PASTE 12 HOURS, covered, at room temperature. The almonds and sugar need the time to hydrate, and a paste shaped the same day spreads flat in the oven.
3. Roll into a rope and cut 3 cm pieces, then shape each into a flattened lozenge — pointed at both ends, not round.
4. ROLL EACH ONE THICKLY IN ICING SUGAR, pressing it on, and set them on lined trays. Leave them UNCOVERED FOR ANOTHER 4 HOURS so the surface dries to a skin.
5. That dried sugar skin is what cracks. Baked straight after rolling, the sugar dissolves and you get a smooth biscuit with no fissures at all.
6. BAKE LOW, 140C FOR 15 MINUTES. They should barely colour and still feel soft; the inside is meant to stay chewy.
7. Cool on the tray. They firm as they go and keep two weeks in a tin.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes