Typical of the city of Siena, i ricciarelli they are soft biscuits made with almond flour, sugar and eggs. We recognize them for their rice grain shape, the white color due to the coating with powdered sugar, and the presence of small cracks spread on the slightly crunchy surface that encloses a soft heart. Ideal enjoyed with tea or coffee, they are the symbol of the holidays in Tuscany, especially during the Christmas period. Ricciarelli are also an excellent solution for those intolerant to gluten, as they are free of flour. Let’s see the recipe for Ricciarelli di Siena biscuits: they require a simple preparation, which only needs to rest the dough in the fridge, as for the Tarta tal-krema with shortcrust pastry base.

Preparazzjoni

1

To prepare Ricciarelli, start toasting the peeled almonds by distributing them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and baking them at 200 ° C in a preheated static oven for 5 minutes (alternatively, in a convection oven at 180 ° C for 3 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2

Once cooled, chop the toasted almonds with a mixer, until you get a fine flour.

3

Separately, separate the yolks from the whites.

4

Take the bowl with the egg whites and start beating them with an electric mixer (or a planetary mixer) and gradually add the sugar, continuing to work them. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

5

Add the orange zest and then, a little at a time, the toasted almond flour to the whipped egg whites. Mix gently with a kitchen spatula with movements from the bottom up, so as not to disassemble the mixture.

6

Once all the almond flour has been incorporated, proceed to form balls of dough with your hands and give an oval shape (lozenge). place the formed biscuits on a floured tray and cover them with cling film. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for an hour. In this way the pastry will compact as much as possible.

7

Once the resting time has elapsed, pass the surface of the biscuits in the icing sugar and place them on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.

8

Cook the Ricciarelli in a preheated static oven at 150 ° C for about 10 minutes. Check the cooking with a toothpick.

9

Once ready, take the Ricciarelli out of the oven, let them cool and then serve.

aċċessorji

• Żewġ skutelli
• Mixer
• Mixer bl-idejn elettriku (jew planetarju).
• Silicone kitchen spatula
• A tray
• Karta li ma tagħmilx griż
• Trej tal-ħami

Għajnuniet u tricks

• Biex tinkorpora gradwalment almond flour with whipped egg whites. In this way no lumps will form and we can check the right consistency to be able to work the dough easily: it must be soft and not flaking, compact enough. If the dough is too liquid, add more almond flour.
• In addition to the orange zest, we can aromatize to taste Ricciarelli di Siena with lemon zest, with vanilla seeds or even with honey. Alternatively, it is also possible to use the essences of orange and lemon or vanillin sachets that are easily found on the market in supermarkets, even if the flavor given by the fruits and the vanilla bean remains more intense.
• In our recipe we have chosen to toast the almonds before grinding them into powder. This step helps to enhance the aroma of the Ricciarelli biscuit dough. Did you know that roasted almonds are also more digestible by our body?
• Check the Ricciarelli during the tisjir. They should still be clear and should not brown. They will also be ready once the typical cracks that distinguish them are formed. Furthermore, before placing them on the baking sheet it is good to flour it; in this way the biscuits will not risk sticking and burning on the base. In some variations of the recipe, a slice of wafer is placed on the base of the sweet to keep them compact and ensure optimal cooking.
• Accompany the Ricciarelli with a good glass of Vin santo, Moscadello di Montalcino or another dessert dessert wine and they will be even more delicious!
• The Ricciarelli dough is very similar to marzipan; it differs only for the presence of aromas such as orange, lemon or vanilla.
• It is also possible to create a version without egg whites of these sweets: in this case, create a syrup of sugar and water with which to mix the toasted almond flour.
• With the leftover yolks from this recipe, you can make a delicious one Krema Ingliża or the classic custard.

ħażna

Store Ricciarelli biscuits in an airtight container and consume them within 3/4 days. We do not recommend freezing these treats.

storja

the Ricciarelli of Siena bring with them a fascinating history with Middle Eastern references. In fact, legend has it that the recipe arrived in Tuscany from Arab countries from a certain Ricciardetto della Gherardesca (from which the Ricciarellis probably take their name). Ricciardetto was a fighter of the Crusades who, on his return to Volterra, brought with him the recipe for some biscuits with a slightly curled shape reminiscent of the Sultani’s slippers.

We do not know that this version is completely real, but it remains certain that throughout the sixteenth century they were commonly prepared in convents and apothecary shops, which were the only ones in those days that managed to have aromas and spices useful for food preparation. Even today you can admire the frescoes on the ceilings of the ancient apothecaries in the historic center of Siena, which have references to Ricciarelli and other typical sweets of the area. It is thought that in the past these biscuits were also called ‘marza panetti’, due to the similarity of the dough to those of marzipan.

Today Ricciarelli are a typically Christmas dessert and different variations of the classic recipe have been created, such as those covered with chocolate. A testimony of the fact that they are a traditional dessert of great importance, we find it in the recognition, in 2010, of the IGP denomination (protected geographical indication) of these exquisite almond sweets.