Ricciarelli

Introduce

Chef :

Joanne

Ricciarelli

These little Italian macaroons are incredibly easy to make, look fantastic, and everybody loves them. If you have people coming over for dinner they make a good substitute for a complicated dessert, serve with chilled vin santo or coffee. They're often made at Christmas time in Italy, but they're also good for the Easter weekend. The original recipe uses vanilla extract but I prefer almond for a more intense flavour.

Ingredient

250 g

ground almonds

250 g

icing sugar, plus extra to coat

1/2 tsp

baking powder

large free-range egg whites

1 tsp

almond or vanilla extract

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add the almond or vanilla extract.

* Step 2

In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the ground almond mixture with a metal spoon. You will end up with a sticky dough.

* Step 3

Prepare a flat bowl or plate with icing sugar, and a large baking tray covered with baking parchment. Form the dough into walnut sized balls then push into a rough diamond shape. Roll in icing sugar then place on the baking tray.

* Step 4

Repeat until all the mixture is used up, you might need two baking trays. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on them, the bottoms scorch easily. They should still be soft in the middle. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray, if you pick them up too soon they might collapse, then transfer to a wire rack.