Tuesday Treat

Ricciarelli

I love these little Italian biscuits – sweet and almondy, they are the perfect complement to an espresso coffee but are equally good with just about anything! This recipe will make around 34 little biscuits, they only need to be small as they are quite sweet, but the problem is I can never seem to stop at eating just the one!…They are incredibly easy to make, however you do need to make them the day before baking as by allowing the uncooked biscuits to rest and dry out overnight they become deliciously chewy – they are totally worth the wait!…

2 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

225g caster sugar

Zest of one lemon

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond essence

300g ready-ground almonds

Icing sugar for dusting

2x baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper

1. Whisk the egg whites with the salt until they are stiff, then gradually whisk in the sugar until you reach a marshmallowy consistency. Now add the lemon zest, vanilla extract and almond essence along with the ground almonds, mix to form a quite hard paste.
2. Shape into either small diamonds or little rounds (see photo), dusting your hands with icing sugar to stop the mixture becoming too sticky. Lay them on the prepared baking sheets and leave to dry out overnight.
3. The following day, cook the riccarelli in a preheated oven, 140’c fan, for about 30 minutes, by which time they should be pale and slightly cracked. Leave to cool.
4. Finally dust with icing sugar and serve. They will keep well in an airtight container