Well Christmas is over for another year and I received the most gorgeous Christmas presents from Hubby, a pile of cookery books! I can’t wait to get cooking and blogging. I know I keep promising to blog more and I was going to cook the complete Jamie Oliver 30 Minute Meals Book, but the recipes were lovely but all a bit the same, so really loving my new books and the huge variety of recipes.

Tomorrow we have been invited over to one of the neighbours for Christmas drinks, a good chance to get to meet everyone and I have decided to take a gift of Ricciarelli.

Ricciarelli are a traditional Italian biscuit which originates from Siena in Tuscany and date back to the 14th century. Legend holds that they were introduced by Ricciardetto della Gherardesca in his castle near Volterra upon his return from the Crusades.

These small, soft cakes are found in every shop in Siena along with the traditional panforte at Christmas time. Served with coffee, a glass of Vin Santo or with a dessert they will always impress.

Buon appetito

Makes about 20 biscuits
 
300g almond flour (or very finely ground almonds)
280g caster sugar
150g icing sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 1 orange
2 egg whites
1 sheet of rice paper to line the baking tray, don’t worry if you can’t get hold of any, just bake them on some parchment
 
Line a flat baking tray with baking paper or rice paper if using.
 
Mix the ground almonds with the caster sugar, 100g of the icing sugar, the baking powder and the orange zest in the bowl.
 
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and combine with the almond mix, using a wooden spoon. Mash the mixture together to make a sticky, wet mass.
 
Mould oval shapes to 6cm long x 4cm wide x 2cm thick onto a spoon. Slide the ovals off the spoon carefully with your thumb, and reshape any indentations. Put them onto the baking tray, allowing room for them to spread.
 
Sprinkle the tops with 25g, or half of the remaining icing sugar. Leave the biscuits on the tray for 2-3 hours at room temperature to dry them a little before baking. The Italians will often make these the night before baking and leave them over night to dry.
 
Preheat the oven to 140c, 275f, Gas 1. Bake for about 30 minutes or until they are lightly golden and a little firm on the outside. The insides will still be soft. Remove from the oven. Cool slightly before sprinkling with the remaining 25g of icing sugar. Cut the rice paper around the bottom of the cakes.
 
They will keep for about a week stored in an airtight container.