FOOD & DRINK
RICCIARELLI, SIENA’S ALMOND COOKIES
icing sugar, with a soft heart that melts in your mouth, fresh and moist, characterized by the piercing smell of bitter almonds. The origin of ricciarelli di Siena dates back to
L
the fifteenth century: the almond paste – in the form of marzipan or Marzapanetti – was once very popular in the town and Siena was famous even outside its territory for its production. The cookies made with almond paste were reserved for the sumptuous banquet of the Lords because they were made of precious ingredients, mainly almonds and sugar. They were so valuable and refined that marzipan sweets were sold in the apothecaries shops along with drugs and the most exotic spices of the time. This recipe comes from the grocery shop
Rosi in Poggibonsi (SI), slightly revised. Last year I ollowed their doses to make cavallucci - very good - this year I tried ricciarelli - the real ricciarelli di Siena - and next year I already know that I will venture myself to the panforte
14 | THE TUSCAN MAGAZINE
et me introduce to you ricciarelli, almond sweets typical of Siena, covered with
(gingerbread). I love to enter their shop during the holidays because it is full of smells of spices, happy-eyed children and chocolate… but, most importantly, it is full of people talking in code: can you give me the ricciarelli dose for three? stuff for cavallucci without candied fruit, double nuts. Gimme my usual and gimme the spices, too. It’s a turnaround of numbers, doses, tips
offered in a lowered voice, small pieces of written paper and puffs of icing sugar, and the result is this! Ricciarelli di Siena.
Ingredients for about 20 ricciarelli • egg whites, 2 • lemon juice, 1 drop • icing sugar, 200 g • ground almond flour, 200 g • bitter almond extract, 2 tablespoons • seeds from 1 pod of vanilla • grated zest of 1 orange • extra icing sugar, about 200 g • white wafer, 1 large sheet (about as large as a A4 paper)
Method The night before. Whip the egg whites with a drop of lemon juice to stiff peaks. Fold in 200 g of icing sugar and the ground almond flour. Mix in the bitter almond extract, the grated peel of one orange and the vanilla seeds. Cover with cling-film and set aside in the fridge overnight (or at least for 4 hours). The day after. Cut out about twenty (approximately 7 cm x 4 cm) ovals from the wafer sheet: they are meant to be the basis of ricciarelli. Place the extra icing sugar on a working surface. Roll the rough into a sausage and cut out small balls of dough. with powdered sugar a work plan. Shape the dough with your hands to cover the wafer oval. Make it about 1 cm thick and coat the shaped cookies with extra icing sugar (about 5 mm thick). Arrange them on a baking tin lined with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Bake in preheated oven to 160°C for about 18 minutes. They will resemble crinkle cookies. When you remove them from the oven, they will be still soft and moist, but don’t worry! they will reach the ideal texture once cooled down. Store them in an airtight container... the day after they are even better!
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