Ancient Tuscan Biscuits

Cooking in front of such a view, with the swallows in flight that almost seem to come in through the window and the colors of the sunset helps to make everything prettier and tastier too... but some recipes are, in any case, a safe heaven to me. The recipe for making Ricciarelli is definitely one of them. 

Ricciarelli are famous Tuscan biscuits, they come from Siena and their origin dates back to the fifteenth century. Known initially as Marzapanetti they evolved into Ricciarelli from Siena: diamond-shaped biscuits, made with almond flour and covered with vanilla icing sugar. Once they were so valuable and refined that were sold in the old apothecaries shops of Siena, today they can be found almost everywhere in Italy. Traditionally they are served during the Christmas holidays, but I like to prepare them all the time because it is one of those flavors that even when I am in Venice takes me back home to Tuscany, in front of this dreamy view. 

You can see the video of the preparation here or simply follow the recipe below.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites, about 75 g

• 200 g icing sugar, +1 cup for dusting the ricciarelli

• 200 g almond flour

• 1 teaspoon bitter almond extract

• 1 teaspoon bitter orange extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Grated zest of 1 organic orange

Instructions:

1. Whisk the egg whites, add the bitter almond and orange extract, the grated zest of an orange, and the vanilla extract, then fold in the icing sugar and the ground almond flour.  The dough will be soft, don't worry cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge overnight.

2. The day after: preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Dust a working surface with icing sugar. Roll the dough into a log and cut out small balls of dough. Shape the dough with your hands into an oval, about 1 cm thick. Arrange the Ricciarelli on a tray lined with parchment paper.

3. Coat the shaped Ricciarelli with extra icing sugar. Bake the Ricciarelli for about 16-18 minutes. When you remove them from the oven, they will still be soft and moist but don't panic they will reach the ideal texture once cooled down.

   You can store them in an airtight container, they can be stored for a long time!