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Italian Almond Cookies (Ricciarelli) - Soft & Chewy Treats

Italian Almond Cookies (Ricciarelli) - Soft & Chewy Treats

These lovely little Italian cookies have a beautiful chewy texture and bursting with almond flavour. And because they're gluten free and dairy free, everyone can enjoy them!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings: 20
Calories: 127

Ingredients
  

Ingredients
  • ▢ 2 cups almond meal or blanched ground almonds (Note 1)
  • ▢ 1/2 cup caster / superfine sugar (Note 2)
  • ▢ 2 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon)
  • ▢ 3 drops natural almond extract
  • ▢ 1/8 tsp salt
  • ▢ 1/2 cup dried cherries , chopped (Note 3)
  • ▢ 2 egg whites , at room temperature (from 2 large eggs, Note 4)
  • ▢ 2 tsp honey
Almond Coating (optional, Note 5):
  • ▢ 1 Extra egg white
  • ▢ 1 1/2 cups flaked almonds

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F (170°C fan). Line 2 trays with baking/parchment paper.
  2. Combine Dry Ingredients: Place the almond meal, sugar, zest, almond extract and salt in a bowl. Whisk together until zest and almond extract is evenly distributed. Add the cherries and set aside
  3. Beat eggs whites: Using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the egg whites and honey to soft peaks (Note 5). About 2 minutes on Speed 8 of a handheld beater, or 1 1/2 minutes on Speed 6 of a stand mixer.
  4. Fold the beaten egg whites gently into the almond mixture. You will seemingly knock most of the air out of the meringue, that's ok! (You actually haven't :) ).
  5. Place Extra egg white in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until foamy. Place flaked almonds in another bowl.
  6. Form 2.5cm/1" balls: Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a rough ball (2.5cm/1" ball). I do this using 2 eating spoons - we don't need perfect balls here.
  7. Coat in egg whites: Drop the ball into foamy egg whites. Use 2 forks to turn to coat, then pick up and place in the flaked almonds.
  8. Almond coating: Coat cookies with the almonds, pressing them on to cover as completely as you can. Don't worry if you get some double layers or pieces sticking out - no need to be neat or thorough here!
  9. Bake 13 minutes: Place on prepared tray 2.5cm / 1" apart. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown. Start checking at 12 minutes to be sure the nuts aren’t burning
  10. Cool: Transfer to rack to cool completely before serving.
  11. Store: Store in an airtight container. They last up to 10 days in a storage container or can be frozen

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 20mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8g

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