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 egg whites
- 1 dash lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp orange zest about half a large orange
- 1 tbsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for coating cookies
Instructions
- Whip egg whites and lemon juice together with a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Using a fine mesh sieve, sift in almond flour, 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder and fold into egg whites. I don’t do it all at once but maybe in 2-3 batches. 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.
- Add orange zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract and fold in until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using clean hands, roll dough into balls about 1″ in diameter, then roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Shape into an oval, then arrange on baking sheet with some space between them for spreading, and flatten slightly.
- Leave at room temperature for about an hour or until the tops have dried out and formed almost a little shell. (This may take longer in humid areas.) Pre-crack the shell by squeezing the cookies slightly from opposite corners. (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 degrees. 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!
These look great! One thing: can I use almond flour that isn’t blanched? Like with the little pieces of skin on?
I’ve made these twice and they are absolutely delicious. The only think is that the dough seems too sticky – difficult to form the balls. Should I add more powdered sugar and flour? Thank you!
I just used a small cookie scoop and dropped the dough right into my powdered sugar, then shook the dish around to coat them. They weren’t perfectly round but close enough, and they were dry enough to handle at that point to flatten and shape them a bit on the pan 🙂
Easy recipe to follow, this is an excellent cookie, reminded me of what my grandfather used to bake during the holidays for the family. Grandpa was the chef of the family, not grandma, who never cooked a day in her life. This cookie is chewy with a firm crust, the almond and orange is a great taste. Make this cookie for everyone in the family they will love you for it.
Thanks for the recipe
Made these a few days ago and we all *love* them! Your recipe was perfect for me. I did do one shortcut that worked great: when the whites were whipped stiff, I also quickly whipped in the baking powder, salt, zest, and extracts to be sure they were evenly mixed. Then I sifted/folded in the almond flour and powdered sugar by hand.
Absolutely delicious and loved by everyone. Followed the recipe exactly as written.
I made them and they are delicious. I used lemon zest and lemon juice instead of orange. I also rolled mine into balls, and rolled the first in superfine sugar and then the icing sugar. I would make them again, but I think I might use superfine castor sugar in the recipe instead of icing sugar. I pressed down on them lightly and got the crackle effect. All in all delicious easy cookies to make. Would make again along with chocolate crackle cookies. My dough was in the fridge at least 24 hours if not longer.
We LOVE these cookies! But for some reason the last few times we made them they were super sticky and then spread out a lot while baking. This is in Colorado – I’ve never had this problem in Maryland, so I’m guessing it’s an altitude issue. Any advice?? (Mind you, they still taste AMAZING!)
Try making them smaller. I doubled the batch I made this time and as a result I tried to make them a little bigger but they spread out too much and ended up being soft and not as chewy. But when I’ve made them smaller they cook quicker and have less time to soften and spread. Also when your baking at higher altitudes (which Colorado has a lot of high altitudes) you need to increase the temperature 15 to 25 degrees so they can set quicker and not expand too much. These cookies are always super sticky and only become less sticky when rolled in the powdered sugar. I live at sea level so I don’t think that would impact the stickiness, but I think you should try a 15 degree temperature increase (to start with) and make sure they’re not oversized and I believe that should help. Good luck, and happy baking!!
Thank you!! Based on your comments I did a little more investigating… And it looks like everything you suggested plus reducing the baking powder by half! Of course, now I have the opposite problem which is that my husband decided he likes the spread-out version, so now I’m going to try to recreate it at sea level… Maybe adding more baking powder and making them bigger? 🤣
Wondering if these could be made with sugar alternative? My husband loves almond cookies but he is diabetic, so has had to give up sugar.
I have just cooked these for the first time. I love the recipe and they cracked beautifully. The only thing I’d change is I’d only put a teaspoon of almond essence, not a tablespoon; the almond taste is a little too dominant for me.
Thanks for a new go to recipe.
Delicious
I never comment on recipes but I have to tell you how many compliments I receive on these cookies! I started baking them because a local bakery in San Francisco makes them and I was searching for a recipe. This is my second year making them and I made three batches this year. Honestly every time I give some away, people RAVE about how amazing and unexpectedly great they are. The are chewy and soft with a great almond/orange flavor. Seriously make these if you want all the compliments!!
Could you let me know of the SF bakery? I’ve never found them in the US!
Arizmende Bakery!
Funny, that’s why I became obsessed with finding a recipe! I’ve loved the arizmende ones for years! I’ve made these too and agree they are excellent!
There’s a great bakery in Oakland — Market Hall Bakery. They do a Ricciarelli cookie that is spectacular. rockridgemarkethall.com/market-hall-bakery
I get mine at Dianda’s in the mission @ 25th. They call them something like Almond Cappini or Coppini… something like that. They come in little tiny cupcake wrappers. One of my favorite cookies, so I’m finally trying to make them myself.
Can you freeze these cookies after baking? How long do they stay fresh and good stored in an airtight container at room temperature?
I have frozen and thawed them successfully, they are just as good as when they were fresh.
I am so excited to try these as part of my Christmas cookies this year! What type of almond flour do you recommend? (Blanched, superfine, etc) Thanks!
Superfine is 100% necessary, but you can use blanched or not. The “natural superfine whole almond flour” is good (Bob’s Red Mill brand), but their “superfine blanched almond flour” makes the best in my opinion. Not using blanched is like making French toast with healthy whole grain bread. It still will taste good just healthier. Definitely go superfine blanched! I make this cookie recipe ever year for Christmas, it’s amazing and unique!
How much is a cup in dl or grams?
Can you leave the citrus out and just have the almond flavor?
Sure! The lemon juice does help the egg whites whip but if you’d rather not use it you can sub a bit of cream of tarter or leave it out. The orange zest is just for flavor!
Fabulous. Fairly easy and the end product is very professional and delicious.
I’ve made these twice now and they’re fabulous. Just wanted to share a couple of notes from the double batch I made today. I used frozen egg whites left over from a batch of ice cream I made a few weeks ago and they worked great – whipped up like a charm. I also used lemon zest instead of orange because I only had lemons on hand. Instead of rolling between my hands (I *hate* getting sticky) I just used a small cookie scoop and dropped them right into the powdered sugar; the shape came out fine and they just needed a slight press in the centre (after about 2 hours drying time which I used to go grocery shopping lol) to pre-crack. I think they are a bit bigger than yours so they needed 25-26 minutes to bake, but they turned out lovely. I hope they last in my freezer until Christmas Eve! Thanks and happy holidays!
I wanted to know if the dough could be made ahead, shaped and frozen before baking. Also, can these be frozen after baking? They look delicious.
Beyond perfect recipe, I’ve been making these for two years now and it never fails me!!
Thank you so much for commenting! I’m so glad you love this recipe!
I made these today and they smell wonderful and I am sure they will be tasty, but mine are not golden and white, at all. They are beige and white, which I should have thought they would be because the almond flour is beige. Did you use something other sort of almond flour? Is the almond flour in Italy golden? Thanks.
Perhaps you were supposed to use blanched almond flour rather than plain almond flour (duh!). Was that it?
Yep, blanched almond flour also gives it a different taste!
I made these too, and they came up white as well. I had to bake them for an additional 10 minutes for them too beige up 🙁
Do you really mean 300 degrees??
Fahrenheit!
Hi Caroline. Your Ricciarelli look amazing! I studied abroad in Siena (so homesick) and I miss the ones from Nannini, the famous bakery there. I’ve looked in vain for a good recipe but haven’t had much luck yet. Yours look pretty close, so I’m looking forward to trying them out!
Can you freeze these?