Ricciarelli: Chewy Italian Almond Cookies
Ricciarelli are dense, chewy Italian almond cookies originating in Siena. They are a distant, and much less fussy, Italian cousin to the French macaron — perfect with tea or coffee!
It’s about time I shared a recipe with you that was inspired from our trip to Italy last fall!
We had so much good food while we were there that I wish I could relive or recreate: Bistecca alla Fiorentina, or Florentine steak. Tiramisu. Homemade cavatelli pasta with arrabiata sauce from our cooking class in Rome. Allllllll those interesting flavors of gelato. Of course, pizza. More than anything, I wish I could import the amazing cured meats we had or have just one more sandwich from Lo SchiacciaVino.
While we were in Florence, we had the rare treat of meeting up with my European blogger friend Emily of Inside the Rustic Kitchen (an amazing go-to recipe blog for all things Italian!).
We both happened to bring each other identical gifts – cookies local to the cities we lived in. I brought her benne wafers (small, crunchy sesame cookies) from Charleston, and she brought me a box of ricciarelli – chewy almond cookies native to Siena, Italy.
I had never had them before but my husband and I were in love with them from the first bite! It was really difficult trying to save any of the cookies for more than a couple days!
What are ricciarelli?
Ricciarelli are cookies from Siena, Italy, that have a kick-you-in-the-face almond flavor, a lovely dense chewiness, and a beautiful cracked surface. One of these cookies is just perfect alongside a hot cup of Earl Grey or, if you want to live in true Italian style, a cappuccino.
Think of ricciarelli cookies as a cousin to macarons. Technically, I believe, it is actually a type of macaroon – with two o’s – but they made me think of macarons – with one o – as I was making them.
The recipes and techniques of ricciarelli and macarons are actually very similar: In both types of cookie, you fold almond flour and sugar into whipped egg whites, and you leave the shaped cookies on the baking sheet for a while to dry out before baking in order to form a little crust on the outside.
But — and this is good news — ricciarelli dough is much less fussy to make than macaron batter.
In ricciarelli, the ratio of almond flour to egg whites is much higher than in macarons, so you get a dense, chewy almond cookie rather than a light, airy one. Because there’s so much almond flour to fold in, it’s impossible to keep much of that fluffy meringue texture. Instead of lava-like macaron batter, you end up with a sticky dough you can roll into balls with your hands.
However, that hint of a crispy meringue-like exterior is still there before you hit the chewy inside. Letting the cookies rest long enough on the counter before baking is key to getting this texture!
Getting perfectly crackled ricciarelli cookies
That dried-out shell on the cookie dough is also vital to getting the beautifully craggy, crackled effect on the outside as well. With ricciarelli, you roll each ball of dough in powdered sugar before baking. When it cooks, the dough on the inside expands and breaks through the dried exterior, allowing golden cracks to show through the white outside.
However, sometimes the cookies need a little help in getting the crackled effect. The first time I made these, the dough was practically drying out by the time I got them on the cookie sheet and cracked very easily on their own. The second time I made them, even though I left them on the counter for two hours instead of one, the cookies needed some assistance to get the cracked texture.
You can see the difference here – the cookies on the right didn’t have any help, while the ones on the left were pre-cracked before baking.
I lightly squeezed each cookie from opposite corners until I was satisfied with the cracks I could see forming in the tops of the unbaked cookies. Then, instead of relying on the expanding dough to create the cracks, they just have to enhance the ones you already made.
I’ve demonstrated below on the baked cookies how I squeezed the unbaked dough balls to crackle the shells. Feel free to lightly press down on the tops or whatever you need to do to get those cracks started!
It’s basically like when you slice the top of your bread dough before baking. If you don’t, the dough will still expand and crack, but it might not be where you want it to. (In the case of the cookies, I found without pre-cracking the dough, it will mostly crack on the bottoms of the cookies rather than the tops, which isn’t nearly as pretty)
Getting the ideal flavor and texture
I did several rounds of recipe testing to get these just right for you! The first batch was delicious but tasted too much of orange and was too sweet. (The orangey flavor was lovely, just not as close to the original super-almondy ones we had.)
The second batch was much closer to the original cookies we had, but lost that hint of a meringue-like shell. Granted, I don’t remember that being present in the original cookies we had in Italy, but was a really nice attribute of the first batch of cookies I made!
I wasn’t sure why less sugar and orange zest would affect the texture, but I theorized that it was related to the humidity on the day I made the second batch.
What else could I do but test the same recipe with a third batch? This time I had our new dehumidifier on. Voila! Nice slightly crispy thin meringue-like shell, with the dense, moist, chewy interior. Perfecto!
Granted, they were still AMAZING in the second batch – just know that the humidity of your climate may affect the exact texture of your cookies. You can always leave them out longer before baking to help them out if you are in an especially humid environment!
Anyway, the best thing you can do to make sure these cookies come out well is to TRY THEM. They’re very easy to make — and even with subtle variations on exactly how the surface or flavor of each batch turned out, the consensus for each and every cookie was that they were awesome.
Hands down: holy amazingness. These have become one of my favorite cookies now!
Ricciarelli: Chewy Italian Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar plus ½ cup for coating cookies
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tablespoon almond extract (this is not a typo)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest about half a large orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Add egg whites and lemon juice to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at medium low speed until frothy (about a minute), then at medium high until stiff peaks form. Add almond extract, vanilla extract, and orange zest, and fold in until well combined.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift almond flour mixture into the beaten egg white mixture. Add it in in about 2-3 batches, folding in each batch. Try to keep some air in the egg whites, but at this point it will form a pretty sticky dough rather than a fluffy meringue (see step by step photos in blog post or how-to video for texture)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using clean hands, roll dough into balls about 1" to 1.5" in diameter (or 23-25g each), then roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Shape into an oval, then arrange on baking sheet with some space between them for spreading.
- Leave at room temperature for about half an hour to an hour, or until the tops have dried to the touch and formed almost a little shell. (This may take longer in humid areas.) Flatten the cookies slightly and lightly squeeze or stretch opposite corners, trying to form little cracks in the top of the dried shell to pre-crack it before baking. (Not doing this won't affect the taste, but pre-cracking them makes them much prettier if you want that beautiful white-gold contrast!)
- While cookies are drying, preheat oven to 300℉ (150℃). When the cookies are ready, bake for about 20 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. These are even better the next day and are great with coffee or tea!
I am so excited to try these. I am keto so I bake a lot with almond flour already and LOVE almond flavored cookies. Do you think a sugar replacement like monk fruit would be one for one?
I’m not well-versed in sugar replacements so I wouldn’t be able to tell you for sure, but this powdered monkfruit sweetener (affiliate link) says it’s a 2:1 substitute for powdered sugar. Also not sure how a sugar replacement would affect the texture of the cookie.
These cookies are amazing! My husband and I bought them in Florence, Italy. We were in love!Thank you for sharing this recipe, we can relive our vacation. They were a hit at our last party! Our last batch was a tad over baked as my husband set the oven for convection bake. They were still chewy in the center, but a little darker on the outside. Thanks again!
Food can definitely bring you back to a moment! It makes me think of our trip to Italy every time I make them. Glad they were a hit at your party!
This is a fantastic recipe. Very easy. You don’t actually have to be that delicate with it at all, and that includes creating the balls and rolling them in the icing sugar. My family absolutely love these. I omitted almond essence and the orange zest because we are in lockdown and did not to have either ingredient.
Glad you liked these! When you’re able to get almond extract you should make the recipe again – it makes a huge difference!
Hello
Great recipe ! Perfect texture! I dis not have almond extract, i added more vanilla extract, but i feel it is lacking something , i mean a more distinctive flavor; Would orange blossom water do the trick? I am
Not finding almond extract near my home.
Thanks
The almond extract is really what gives these cookies their distinctive and characteristic flavor! Are you in the U.S.? Almond extract is pretty common and found near the vanilla extract in the grocery store or at Target. If you can’t find it in person you can order it online! (affiliate link)
I am staying with my Dad during this COVID-19 pandemic and have tried many new recipes, including several cookie/dessert recipes. This one was like hitting the lottery! So delicious! I live in Tennessee and it is quite humid here already but the cookies cracked after about 1 hour 15 minutes. I think I need to invest in that oven thermometer as they came out a little underdone in the middle. But both my Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed them! A complicated recipe made simple with your writing/directions. Thank you so much for bringing a little sunshine into our lives during this time!
PS – I tried to leave a recipe rating but it didn’t work!
I’m so glad you liked this recipe and that the directions helped! Hope y’all are doing well with the pandemic, sounds like you’re having lots of fun trying new recipes!
Made these today..with 70% of suggested icing sugar….they are AMAZING. (Still very very sweet though!:))
Thank you for saving my cravings for almond.
One more almond dessert with egg white after egg white almond tea….x
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! The amount of sugar can definitely be adjusted to taste – I already reduced it twice when I was testing the recipe!
I’ve made these a few times and they’re always a hit! Thank you for sharing the recipe and your adventure!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe and story! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is off…… you need more liquid….. 2 eggs whites whipped into firm peaks is not enough moisture to make any kind of batter.
You should end up with a very sticky dough, not a batter. They are sort of a cousin to macarons but you won’t end up with a pipeable batter like you do with macarons! Please see the photos for the consistency you should be looking for.
There is nothing wrong with the recipe unless your eggs are extra small. I was afraid the first time making them when i saw all the sugar and flour vs the egg whites but it is perfect.
Can you make a video? Mine came out very sticky..,🤷🏻♀️
This recipe is high on my list for making a video! Once I get this having-a-newborn thing down hopefully I can work on new video content.
Thanks for the recipe. We loved the taste but found it a bit too sweet so next time I’ll reduce the sugar, just personal preference really. I used ground almonds instead of almond flour as I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that for sale in the shops here. I presume the grains with the flour must be finer, but it seemed to work just as well. Loved the chewy soft texture in the middle with the crunch of the shell!
Almond flour is just finely ground almonds – if you can get it through a fine mesh sieve it’s probably about the same consistency. I think it could definitely work with a bit less sugar too! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I did it today 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽… I enjoyed so much the process until the finished stage, it was easy.
Hi! I have left a 5 star review BUT, unlike all of the other reviewers, I had an awful result. I used Powdered Swerve and the sweetness was overwhelming. And, I rolled the balls in the Powdered Swerve before baking. The cookies were left out for 4 hours. They never developed a shell and cracked. And, the Powdered Swerve on the exterior of the ovals disappeared while baking because of the oil in the almond flour. Please help me! I think that the cookies are BEAUTIFUL and I had fun making them! But I really blew it!!!
I’m afraid I’m not familiar with sugar substitutes and how they would affect this recipe! My guess is the use of the Swerve rather than powdered sugar had something to do with the sweetness and the shell not developing. Sometimes my powdered sugar disappears on the exterior too and I have to roll it a second time to get the nice white coating but other than that, I’d probably attribute the issues to the sugar substitute.
These were amazing! I didn’t have an orange or vanilla extract but they were still delicious! Thank you for the recipe 😊
So glad you liked them! Thanks for leaving a comment!
These are what I’ve been searching for after eating a similar cookie in Puglia. I’m so thrilled to have found this recipe. Perfect texture, and oh so tasty!
I’m so glad these were what you were looking for!
I’ve made these 4 times in the last 2 months because they disappear as soon as they’re out of the oven!!! I made two batches and broke it up into 4 different colors for Easter and shaped them like little eggs and they turned out SO cute on top of always being SO delicious. Almond flour is expensive but totally worth it for this recipe – thank you so much for posting my new favorite cookie recipe!
What a great idea to make them Easter eggs! I always have to decide if making these is worth the expense of the almond flour, but yes. Yes it is.
I am an avid baker and these are, hands down, the best and easiest cookie that any beginner could even make. I might add that your instructions are succinct and very descriptive so it’s pretty hard to mess up. Thank you! I just made three batches of these and sent them to my friends who are stuck at home like the rest of us. Stay safe and healthy!
Thanks so much for your lovely comment. You’ve got some lucky friends! You stay safe and healthy, too!
Exactly what I was looking for! Just made my first batch and they turned out.
Wonderful! So glad to hear it! Thanks for commenting, Amber!
Great recipe, perfect result as promised. Thank so much!
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad you like these!
These are perfect for anyone who is gluten free. They turned out amazing and I will be making them over and over again. Who doesn’t love almond and orange together and a chewy cookie? Thank you for thIs keeper recipe.
I love these for people who can’t have gluten because they’re naturally gluten free rather than using gluten free substitutions! So glad you like these!
Perfect recipe. Perfect cookie.
So glad you enjoyed these! Thanks so much for your comment!
Best cookie ever!
Thanks! One of my favorites too!