Ricciarelli are Siena's contribution to the Italian cookie canon. They predate most things on the modern dessert table, with roots going back several centuries in Tuscany. The recipe is short: almonds, sugar, egg white, and a bit of orange. What makes them distinct from a French macaron or a Spanish polvoron is texture: the outside cracks as it bakes, while the inside stays soft and a little chewy.
We keep chopped almonds in the pantry for exactly this kind of recipe. The almonds go into a food processor until they reach a fine, slightly oily meal. From there the process is forgiving, which is why ricciarelli have survived as a home recipe for so long.
They keep well for up to a week in a tin, and they are better on day two than day one, once the sugar-dusted exterior has settled into the soft interior.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Pulse the 7 oz of Gusta chopped almonds in a food processor until they reach a fine, slightly oily meal, about 30 seconds. Do not over-process or they will become paste.
Combine the almond meal with 6.3 oz caster sugar, 1 oz icing sugar, the orange zest, almond extract, and salt in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the 2 egg whites to soft peaks. They should hold a soft curl when the whisk is lifted but not be stiff.
Fold the egg whites into the almond mixture in two additions. The dough will be sticky and hold its shape when pressed.
Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour. This is necessary: the dough is too soft to shape without chilling.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Dust your palms lightly with icing sugar. Roll the dough into balls of about 0.7 oz each (roughly the size of a walnut). Press each ball gently into an oval shape about 2 in long and place on the lined sheet, spaced 1.2 in apart.
Sift a generous layer of icing sugar over the top of each cookie.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops have cracked and the cookies are just golden around the edges. The centers will look slightly underdone: this is correct. They firm up as they cool.
Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They are best after resting overnight in an airtight tin.
You made Ricciarelli. Time to eat.
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The cracked surface is not a flaw: it is what happens when the icing-sugar coating sets faster than the interior expands during baking. For more dramatic cracks, chill the shaped cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking rather than going straight from the fridge. Ricciarelli improve after 24 hours in a tin. The texture shifts from slightly gummy to properly chewy.
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