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This is one of my absolute favorite Italian almond biscuits with a soft and chewy texture. It is also incredibly easy to put together. They are naturally gluten-free and dairy free.
What is ricciarelli ?
Ricciarelli is a popular Christmas cookie from Sienna, Tuscany. They are made with almond flour, sugar, zest of orange/lemon, and egg white. The biscuits have a nice soft, dense, and chewy texture with their signature cracks on the surface. It is said that ricciarelli is the cousin of macaron. It has that similarity in texture: soft and chewy! But guess what? it is 10 times easier to make than macaron LOL!
Ricciarelli vs Amaretti
Though both almond biscuits are quite similar, the ricciarelli are softer and chewier.
Ingredients
1. Almond flour
I use super-fine blanched almond flour
2. Powdered sugar/icing sugar
If you don’t have one, you can use a food processor and process regular granulated sugar into powdered form
3. Egg white
I use room-temperature egg white
4. Orange or lemon
You can use either the zest of orange or lemon
5. Almond extract
I love the addition of almond extract as it gives an extra almond kick to the biscuits
6. Salt
The addition of salt to the egg white helps to stiffen the texture of the meringue
How to make ricciarelli di Sienna
1. Sift the almond flour with icing sugar. Add the lemon or orange zest. Stir to combine
2. In a grease-free mixing bowl, add egg white and a pinch of salt and beat with a hand mixer until it is foamy and then add the lemon juice, sugar and almond extract and continue to beat until you get a firm peak
3. Add the egg white into the almond flour mixture and fold to combine into a wet paste. 
4. Dust your work surface with some corn starch. Put the dough paste on top of the corn starch. Coat the dough to prevent sticking
5. Roll into a log
6. Use a sharp knife to cut diagonally, about 3/4 inch thick
7. Coat the cut cookies generously with more icing sugar
8. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dust with more icing sugar. Let them stand for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. The idea is to “dry out” the surface of the dough a little bit to create the cracks later. Then use your fingers to shape the dough into an oval with more pointy ends 
9. Flatten them slightly with your fingers to encourage to create the “cracks” on top
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 F (for a conventional oven) for 20 minutes. If you have a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C. These are very soft cookies. Let them sit for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack
11. They are best served the next day if you can wait. It has a nice soft and chewy texture I can’t get over with!
Did you make this ricciarelli di Sienna recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Ricciarelli di Sienna (Italian Chewy Almond Biscuits)
Ingredients
- 100 gr almond flour
- 75 gr icing sugar plus more for dusting
- zest of half of a lemon or orange
For egg white meringue:
- 23 gr egg white (room temperature)
- small pinch of salt
- 15 gr icing sugar
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp almond extract
For dusting:
To coat the cookies:
- 50 gr icing sugar or as needed
Instructions
- Sift the almond flour with icing sugar. Add the lemon or orange zest. Stir to combine
- In a grease-free mixing bowl, add egg white and a pinch of salt and beat with a hand mixer until it is foamy and then add the lemon juice, sugar and almond extract and continue to beat until you get a firm peak
- Add the egg white into the almond flour mixture and fold to combine into a wet paste. Dust your work surface lightly with some corn starch. Put the dough paste on top and coat the dough as needed to prevent sticking. Roll into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut diagonally, about 3/4 inch thick
- Coat the cut cookies generously with more icing sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let them stand for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. The idea is to "dry out" the surface of the dough a little bit to create the cracks later. Then use your fingers to shape the dough into an oval with more pointy ends and then flatten them slightly with your fingers to encourage to create the "cracks" on top
Baking:
- Bake in a preheated oven at 300 F (for a conventional oven) for 20 minutes. If you have a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C. These are very soft cookies. Let them sit for 10 minutes on the pan before moving to a cooling rack
Storing:
- Once the cookies have cooled down completely, transfer them to an air-tight container. They can be kept at room temperature for about 3-4 days
Serve:
- They are best served the next day if you can wait. It has a nice soft and chewy texture I can't get over with!