Ricciarelli (Italian Almond Cookies) Recipe

Ricciarelli are artisanal cookies from Siena that are popular at Christmas time, but Italians actually purchase them from bakeries or make them at home year-round. Almond flour and bitter almond extract give them a delightfully sweet and nutty texture, aroma, and flavor. They also contain frothed egg whites and powdered sugar, so the cookies turn out both dense and very soft. That softness makes them crack when they bake, giving them their characteristic appearance, somewhat like oversized grains of rice with fissures dusted with powdered sugar.

Like many traditional recipes, different people have their own way of making these cookies. Some recipes only contain almond flour, while others include a little 00 flour, one of the essential ingredients for Italian baking. Some traditional recipes that are handed down over the generations may also be a little more involved. Don't balk at the prep time, because most of the 12 hours is just a hands-off overnight rest in the fridge. It takes a little manual maneuvering to roll an even log of dough and shape the cookies, but it's not overly difficult and can even be quite fun.

I think making a recipe like this is special, helps us slow down and connect to real ingredients, and gives us a sweet result we can savor. These are not treats to scarf down. Bite into one of these lovely cookies and enjoy the flavor and texture, which is even better than bakery-quality when you make them yourself because they're as fresh as you can get. If it's not Christmastime, enjoy them as the Italians do, for breakfast, dessert, or a special snack any day of the year.

For this recipe, you will need egg whites, almond extract, vanilla extract, orange zest, almond flour, 00 flour, powdered sugar, and baking powder. 00 flour is a very finely milled flour often used in Italian baking, pasta, and pizza dough. It helps to ensure these cookies are perfectly tender inside and crispy outside. We have some suggestions below for more information about ingredient substitutions, like using whole almonds and making the cookies gluten-free.

Place the egg whites, almond extract, vanilla extract, and orange zest in a bowl and whisk vigorously until foamy.

Whisk the almond flour, 00 flour, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, and baking powder together in a separate bowl until evenly combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg white mixture and mix with a spoon until a soft dough forms.

Shape the dough into a flattened ball with your hands, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with about ¼ cup powdered sugar.

Roll the dough into a narrow log with your hands, making sure to completely coat the outside of the log with powdered sugar as you roll. Make sure the whole log is the same width, the ends are flat, and the seam on the bottom disappears.

Slice the log into ⅜-inch wide rounds.

Shape each round into a modified diamond shape with two pointed ends but curved sides.

Place the cookies on a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet and dust them with powdered sugar.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. They will be done when cracks start to appear. The cookies should not brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before serving. The cookies will be very soft. Do not touch them before they are cool so they firm up and do not break.

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Almond flour is considered one of the healthiest flours, so these cookies have a nutritional boost from the start. Some people make ricciarelli by starting with whole almonds and making the flour from scratch. You'll just use the same amount of whole almonds as almond flour based on weight. Choose peeled almonds if you would like the cookies to have an even, lighter color. Almonds with skin will grind up into a brown speckled flour. That's fine too: The cookies will be delicious either way.

I developed this recipe in grams based on my cooking experiences in Italy and then converted it. The cookies need 200 grams of almond flour, which I converted to 2 cups. To use whole almonds instead, the conversion is 200 grams of whole almonds, which is about 1 ⅓ cup of almonds, or, if you have a food scale, 7 ounces. If you're starting with chopped or slivered almonds, measure them by weight because the amount of cups will be different.

Place the almonds in a food processor and process them into a flour, and then proceed with the recipe as written. Your almond flour should have a fine crumb with no large pieces noticeable. Just be careful not to process it too long so it doesn't head into almond butter territory. 

Many traditional Italian versions of these cookies don't call for adding 00 wheat flour to the recipe. You can choose to make it entirely with almond flour if you prefer. Start with a 1:1 conversion, which means replacing the ¼ cup of 00 flour with ¼ cup of almond flour. You may need to add a little more. Observe the consistency of the dough after you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. If it's a little too wet and not coming together into a soft ball of dough, sprinkle a little more almond flour into the bowl until it does.

Ricciarelli usually have an elongated shape like a diamond with curved sides, but some people like to make them round instead. They will taste the same, so you can leave them as is after slicing the log of dough if you'd rather skip the shaping step.

I gave the egg whites a vigorous whisking at the beginning of this recipe, but some other versions require you to whip the egg whites into stiff peaks first. Because whipped egg whites will deflate over time, if you want to go this route, mix all the ingredients except the egg whites and add about half a tablespoon of hot water. Let the mixture rest for 12 hours and then whip the egg whites, fold them into the dough, and form the log of dough. Proceed with the recipe as written after that.

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