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 just made these and though these came out delicious they did not crack on top. The dough was very very sticky and impossible to shape into balls by hand. I had to scoop with a spoon into the powdered sugar. A big question I had in making them–the directions say to sieve the flour and sugar into the egg whites. Do you measure BEFORE you put through the sieve or after? I measured first and then put it through the sieve. Perhaps I didn’t have enough flour/sugar and that is why the dough was over-sticky. Any suggestions?
I measure before I sift the flour and sugar. However, I have occasionally in the past had to add a little more almond flour to make the dough workable if it’s too sticky! It is still pretty sticky and I do usually end up with a thin coating of dough on the palms of my hands as I’m rolling the cookies but you should still be able to roll it into balls. I plan to update this recipe with weighted measurements as well so I hope you try this recipe again in the future! I’d definitely add only additional almond flour, not additional sugar, to get the dough to a consistency you can work with.
I made these today. I have to tell you I was skeptical as i have tried to reproduce Ricciarelli from multiple recipes without success. I will say these are great. These come the closest to the texture and taste of the Ricciarelli i remember my grandmother used to get direct from Siena Italy. They are great. This was the first time i created egg white peaks. I am a good cook, but when it comes to baking I have not mastered that (except for Almond and Anise Biscotti). I have saved and printed off the recipe as well as passed it off the my cousin.. I used a silicone mat. I dont recommend that as it doesn’t brown the bottom of the cookies enough. Again these were/are great
Thanks so much for your feedback, and good to know about the silicone mat! I’m so glad you loved these cookies!
Love the recipe…its so yummy!
Yay, glad you like them!
Very excited to try this recipe! I’m wondering if the dough can be made a night in advance and kept in the fridge?
I have a bunch of new recipe testing for these cookies on my to-do list to answer your and other commenters’ questions! I’ll keep you posted!
Nice crisp outer with soft chewy inside. Like a denser meringue. But so light and delicious.
Used medium eggs and baked at 150°C
Almond flour I used ground almonds (UK)
Thanks for your feedback and notes! Glad you liked these!
Hi Caroline,
Hope it’s not too late to ask you a question about the recipe but I really want to try these this weekend and iI’m wondering if you could tell me the weight of the dry ingredients as by using cup measures is very relative… any possibility of sharing that?
Thank you so much for your time and this wonderful recipe you put together.
Bells
Hi Belen, So sorry for the late response! I wrote this recipe for primarily US readers, who frequently don’t own a kitchen scale! But weighted measurements have been a frequently-requested addition to this recipe so I have some more testing coming up, after which I’ll update the recipe to include them as well. In the meantime, I’d just use the cup measurements and if you find the dough is too sticky to roll into balls, just add a bit more almond flour until it’s workable. It should still be pretty sticky though! I’ll keep you posted on updates!
I tried these and they were super amazing. Can’t wait to make more. They were so easy
So glad you liked these! Thanks for your comment!
really easy and delicious. thank
So glad you enjoyed these!
Fantastic. I had some for the first time in Italy and these tasted exactly the same. And they were EASY! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much for your comment! Glad you enjoyed these!
Dear Caroline,
Just made these and had a bit of a quandary – I opened the oven halfway through to turn the tray for more even baking and the cookies looked just fine. Unfortunately though by the end they had all collapsed. They were really difficult to get off the sheet as well, and I had to re-shape them into truffles to salvage the whole thing. Was it definitely the oven opening mishap, since these are meringue based? But they had already been cooked for 10 minutes when I did what I did and they looked nicely shaped.
They still taste great though, wonderful recipe. Just need your help before I attempt my next batch.
All the best,
Deniz
I’d love to see a photo if you have one. They’re not super airy to begin with so I’m not sure what they’d look like collapsed. I don’t think opening the oven should affect them!
I have to say, when I started making these cookies, I got a bit worried. Folding the almond flour into the egg whites and it says to try and keep the lightness of the egg whites, I thought that is not what mine looks like! I carried on! The result was fabulous! These cookies are just to die for!!! One of my new favorite cookies!!
I’m so glad you liked these! Thanks so much for your comment!
These turned out so good!!!
I was wondering if there is a recipe version by weight? I saw it mentioned in the comments but can’t seem to find it. I always have trouble measuring Almond flour by volume because it packs down so easily 🙂
This has been a frequent request on this recipe and I plan to do some additional testing very soon to make sure the metric measurements I include are accurate! I’ll keep you posted on when weight measurements are added. Thank you so much!
Our new favorite cookie. My husband grew up near Lyon France and the taste and texture of this cookie reminds him of his favorite almond gallette he would request for his birthday each year. He is grateful for the reminder.
Thank you !
Thanks so much for your comment! I’m so happy to be able to remind your husband of his favorite birthday treat!
I really loved these, however, when i was rolling the cookies the mixture was very sticky and would not roll into balls very easily until i had powdered sugar on my hands. What did i do wrong? They still tasted good when they came out.
I usually end up with very sticky hands covered in dough and powdered sugar after rolling these! However, if it’s too sticky to handle, you can add a little extra almond flour and that should help!
Hiya! Are you able to provide the ingredients list in weight rather than cups please? Thanks! x
I originally wrote this recipe for a primarily American audience but since it’s been so popular globally I may go figure out weights too at some point. Great suggestion!
i never comment on recipes but i just had to for these amazing cookies! i’ve made them twice now and they are a hit with everyone. so easy to make and so delicious! thank you
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! So glad you like them, Karine!
Absolutely the best almond cookies I ever made!
Thanks so much!
I’m Brazilian and I was delighted when I saw a person here who makes these cookies. I loved your recipe and I’m going to test it.
I hope you like them, Ana!
Props. Quality recipe, the cookies have an interior like marzipan. I needed to bake 40 mins. Excellent thanks for taking the time to share this.
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
Are you allowed to recommend a particular brand of almond flour? The cookies on my last try were not as good as the first ones. I cannot remember the brand. Thanks
HOLY MOTHER OF …
These are absolutely amazing! I had these homemade before (courtesy of living with an Italian immigrant grandma for 4 years) but never made them myself. I’m so glad I found your recipe, thank you for sharing it and for all the hard work you put into it. I feel like I’ll be making these every Sunday instead of macarons.
Yay!!! That sounds like an excellent Sunday tradition! (macarons too, I’ll take either!)