Ricciarelli
(world famous chewy almond cookies of Siena)
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Courtesy of Beverly Gruber's Everyday Gourmet Traveler: http://www.gourmetravel.com/
1 pound whole almonds
(pre-blanched or w/skins) Baking parchment paper (enough to cover baking pans)
1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 all-purpose flour 1/4 mild honey
2 egg whites 1 tsp vanilla
Powdered sugar (as needed for rolling and dusting)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• To blanch almonds, fill a 3-quart pot 3⁄4 full of water; bring to boil. Drop whole almonds into water; boil 2 minutes. Drain almonds; rinse under cold water. OR purchase pre-blanched almonds and skip next 4 steps)
• Spread almonds in a layer on a clean towel or paper towels. When cool enough to handle, squeeze almond between fingers and almond will pop out of skin. Repeat until all almonds are skinned.
• Dry almonds well with towel; discard skins.
• Spread blanched almonds in a single layer in a large baking pan (lined with parchment paper!)
• Bake almonds about 25 minutes, stirring twice, until dried, but not browned; cool.
• BEGIN HERE IF USING PRE-BLANCHED ALMONDS. Place almonds and granulated sugar in a food processor; process until powdered.
• Add 1 cup powdered sugar, flour, honey, egg whites, vanilla; process til well mixed. If mixture becomes too thick, transfer mixture to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces.
• Sprinkle cutting board generously with powdered sugar; roll each piece of dough into a 1-inch diameter log.
• Cut dough diagonally into 1-inch thick slices.
• Lay each slice down and flatten into a diamond shape, 3/8-inch thick.
• Place cookies 1⁄2-inch apart on lined baking pans.
• Spoon powdered sugar into a sieve; dust cookies.
• Bake until cookies are set but not brown, about 12 to 15 minutes (DO NOT BROWN).
• Cool; dust again with powdered sugar
• When completely cool, store in an airtight container.
YIELD: 5 dozen