Tuscan Almond Cookies: Ricciarelli

This post has been in my drafts for a while now. I think my next few posts will also be from drafts until (a) I start making some post worthy dishes and (b) run-out of posts in my drafts. Ok then, moving on..

I buy lot of stuff on impulse, not really thinking or planning on what I’m going to use it for. This happens mostly with the items for kitchen; ingredients, appliances etc. Same used to be the case with clothes & shoes, but with age, I’ve slowed down a lot and only buy things that I really really want & need. But I guess it’ll take me a little while to get that kind of restraint in buying kitchen supplies. So one such impulse buys was Almond meal from Trader Joe's a while back. I had it out in the pantry for a long time, and then I stashed it in the freezer along with my other nuts & grains.

When I saw this cookie post by the Jugalbandits, I wanted to try the almond cookie because they looked so cute in their pic. Since the almond meal was made from unpeeled almonds, it has brown flecks unlike the creamy white Jugalbandit’s cookies. That did not affect the taste of these yummy cookies. They are extremely easy to put together, though I was skeptical about whipping egg whites. That’s one of my fears along with making sugar syrups and whipping cream. I don’t even attempt any of the above listed due to the fear of failure. What if I do too much, eggs are going to deflate and sugar is going to too hard. Well I tried this time and I’m glad that everything turned out well and the cookies were just delicious. I followed the recipe from Divina Cucina closely, my only addition is grated orange zest, taken from Jugalbandit’s recipe.

Ingredients:
Almond meal* – 2 cups (I sifted it remove some of the peel)
Confectioners Sugar – 2 cups + Extra for rolling the cookies
Egg whites – 2**
AP flour – 2tbsp
Baking powder – ½tsp
Almond extract – 1 tsp

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  
• Mix almond meal & confectioners sugar. Add flour & baking powder and mix well.
  
• Whip egg whites until they hold peaks. Fold egg whites into almond meal mixture; add almond extract & orange zest and mix until incorporated. Resultant mixture is sticky but you should able to easily roll into round cookies, if it is too sticky add some flour.
  
• Roll a small lemon size dough into a round and roll them in confectioner’s sugar; flatten lightly and put them on parchment lined baking sheet.
  
• Make sure that the cookies are at least an inch thick. Place them well apart as they spread considerably.
  
• Bake for 13-14 minutes, but check at 12 to make sure they done.
  
• These measurements made me about 2 dozen cookies. They keep good in an air tight container for about a week. Great with a cup of coffee or even tea.

* Make your own almond meal; see how to here.

** Separate eggs while still cold. Leave the whites at room temperature for at least 20 minutes to bring them to room temperature and then whip, room temp whites whip faster then cold whites.