Food Friday: Festive ricciarelli biscuits

To get in the #MerryBristmas mood, we asked the team from Papadeli to share one of their favourite festives recipes...

Papadeli has a range of festive gifts and hampers for you to treat someone this Christmas. Get more ideas from our Bristol Food & Drink Gift Guide.

Ricciarelli are a traditional sweet from Siena made from almonds. They are a delicious treat with a cuppa or glass of Vin Santo. We make them to order and we also have ones directly from Siena in the deli.

They're delicious and gluten free!

Ingredients

• 300g whole almonds
• 225g caster sugar
• Half a lemon’s zest
• Whites of two large eggs
• Vanilla extract - few drops
• Almong extract - few drops
• Icing sugar to dust 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.
2. Roast the almonds for about 15 minutes, turning regularly to ensure they are golden, not too brown. Once ready, leave to cool.
3. Put the almonds in a food processor with half of the caster sugar and the lemon zest and blend.
4. In a clean, grease free bowl, whisk  the egg whites until they are stiff, then add the remaining sugar and continue beating until they return to stiff peaks. Fold in the ground almond mixture with the vanilla extract and almond extract.
5. On a lined tray, shape the mixture into balls and flatten slightly until they’re about 1 cm thick. It helps if you dampen your hands so the mixture doesn’t stick to your fingers! Place them about 3 cm apart.
6. Put in the oven to bake for 20-30 mins until a pale gold colour.  Cool them on the tray then put on a plate and dust with icing sugar.

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• More about Christmas in Bristol
• The Bristol food & drink gift guide
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