Ricciarelli: Chewy Italian Almond Cookies

Ricciarelli are dense, chewy Italian almond cookies from Siena. A type of almond macaroon, these are low-fuss cookies with a big payoff. Perfect with tea or coffee, these naturally gluten-free and dairy-free cookies are especially popular during the Christmas season.

To view measurements by weight, select "Metric" under the ingredients list.

Recipe and post was updated 11/14/2025 to reflect a more standard order of operations, include measurements by weight, and freezing instructions.

Course baked goods, Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Drying time 1

Total Time 1 50

Servings cookies

Calories 129kcal

Author Caroline Lindsey

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

US Customary - Metric

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!

Notes

Freezing:

For cookie dough (recommended):

Freeze already-shaped oval dough balls (not yet flattened) on a baking sheet until frozen. Then store in a zip-top bag or airtight container until ready to bake. Thaw completely in the refrigerator or at room temperature before baking. At room temperature, this takes an hour or less.

Once thawed, roll balls in powdered sugar and flatten to form cracks in the top. Bake at 300 for 20-22 minutes.

Notes: This results in the best appearance of the freezing methods, and will give you a crisp shell and chewy interior. The exterior was a little extra crisp, but it will even out after resting overnight in an airtight container.

For baked cookies: Freeze baked cookies in a zip-top bag or airtight container. Thaw fully at room temperature. Notes: Thawed already-baked cookies will be chewy throughout without the slightly crisp exterior, and will not have the color contrast of freshly-baked cookies. They are still delicious!

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