Ricciarelli - Italian Almond Cookies

They are rustic on the outside, chewy on the inside , filled with almond flavour and studded with glazed dry cherries.

They are Gluten and Dairy free, and can be kept for up to 10 days.

This recipe makes 15 balls each about 40g weight after baking (around 50g before baking).

Ingredients:

200g Almond meal (ground whole almonds)

(Almond flour can also be used, that is made with blanched and pealed fine grounded almonds)

120g Fine white Sugar (Caster Sugar)

1 Lemon zested

Pinch of Salt

3 Egg Whites

3 drops of Almond Extract

2 Teaspoon of Honey

Optional: 60g of dry Cherry

For the coating :

1 Egg white beaten

150g Flaked Almonds

The Making:

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Beat the egg whites with the honey and almond essence to a firm foam.

Mix the dry ingredients with the beaten egg whites.

Prepare the Coating mix.

Form balls with a spoon (around 50g) and coat each ball with the egg whites then with the flaked almonds.

Put the coated balls onto a tray covered with bake paper or silicon mat.

Put the tray into a 200c pre heated oven for 10 minutes, then check, you might need an extra 5-6 minutes to get the desired colours you prefer. The longer is in the Oven the dryer will be inside.

Let them cool down on a wire rack. They will be soft when hot, and will harden slightly as they cool.