Ricciarelli - Almond Cookies from Siena

The main ingredients are egg whites, sugar and almonds. The same ones from which cinnamon stars, amaretti, French macarons and homemade marzipan are made. And when we add the aromas typical of each of these, we can not only associate the texture with the characteristic shape, but the shape and colour can hint at the flavour. For ricciarelli it is orange. Its combination with vanilla and the main ingredient - almond - together with the technique that contributes to a soft center and a delicately crisp surface, makes ricciarelli one of the most delicate almond cookies I have ever tasted. I made an attempt with two recipes. One is very old, from the book Tuscan Desserts: Pastries, Cakes and Sweets, and like almost all old recipes it did not give the result I expected after the tastings in Siena. The technique in that recipe requires pounding the almonds with crystal sugar in a mortar, where both must turn into powder. I did not even think of doing that and was rather inclined to try the author's other suggestion - "with a modern electric grinder". However, an ordinary food processor could not do this job (or perhaps I did not have enough patience). Sugar crystals remained in the ground mixture, which in turn caramelized in the dough while baking and made the cookies very hard once they cooled. So I looked for a modern, easier-to-execute recipe and came across the one at en.julskitchen.com, from which I borrowed the technique and the proportions of the ingredients. Preparing ricciarelli requires the dough to rest overnight in the refrigerator, so they must be made with planning. Ageing makes them even better, and in my opinion they are best from the next day to a week after baking. Store in a cookie tin at room temperature. The stated quantities make about 35 pieces.

Beat the egg whites and lemon juice with a mixer until they thicken and form stiff peaks. Separately, mix the icing sugar and the almond flour. Add them to the egg whites and stir with a spatula. A soft, sticky dough forms. Add the almond liqueur, the seeds from the vanilla pod and the orange zest to it. Stir well with a spatula. Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Heat the oven to 160ºC with the fan on or the hot-air option. (This is done if two trays are baked at the same time. If the trays are placed one at a time, the fan is not turned on and the tray is placed on the middle level of the oven.) Sprinkle plenty of icing sugar onto a work surface. Divide the dough into two parts. Place each part in turn onto the icing sugar. Roll the dough in it, shaping it into a rope. Thin the rope until it is about 3 cm in diameter. Cut into pieces 1.5 cm thick. Roll each piece on all sides with icing sugar. Give the cookies an oval shape and arrange them spaced apart from one another on two trays lined with baking paper. Press them lightly on the surface with your fingers. Place both trays in the oven at the same time, allowing enough space between them. Bake the cookies for 18 minutes. (If the cookies are baked one tray at a time, place it on the middle level of the oven, keeping the temperature and baking time, but do not turn on the fan.) When removed from the oven they will still be soft, so you must wait 10 minutes before moving them to a rack and leaving them to cool completely. Store in a cookie tin for up to two weeks.