Italian Almond Orange Cookies Recipes

ITALIAN ALMOND-ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, sugar, orange zest and honey with a whisk until smooth.
• Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until moist and all of the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet and combined.
• Cover and refrigerate for one hour and as long as 24 hours. I made my dough the night before then baked the next morning.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F with two racks in top two positions.
• Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
• Roll the dough on your counter with your hands into a fat log and cut it into two equal pieces.
• Roll each piece out into logs and cut in half then each piece in half again. Then cut each piece into three. This will give you 24 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a ball then roll in the powdered sugar then onto the cookie sheets, 12 per tray.
• Bake both together for 15-17 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.
• The cookies are done when they start to crackle and flatten out and are slightly browned on the bottom. The centers will be very soft so don't go by the feel of the cookie and don't lift off the cookie sheet yet.
• As they cool on the cookie sheet, they stiffen up and have a crisp outside and a chewy center.
• Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

RICCIARELLI - TRADITIONAL ITALIAN ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Place the blanched almonds into a nut grinder or food processor fitted with a steel blade; process to a fine powder.
• Transfer to a mixer bowl and mix in the almond paste with an electric mixer. Add the egg white and mix at the lowest speed until thoroughly blended (the dough should be firm). Add the baking powder and the almond extract (and the orange zest if using), and mix until well blended.
• Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough into roughly 1-heaping tablespoonful sized balls. Dust your hands with icing sugar and then roll these balls to form little finger sized logs. Place the ricciarelli logs 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and then flatten slightly. Let stand uncovered at room temperature at least 1 hour or overnight.
• When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 300F degrees.
• Place cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the cookies are a very light tan, 20 to 30 minutes. Take care NOT to bake until brown or crisp, as it is the softness that makes the ricciarelli so delicious!
• Generously dust cookies with additional icing sugar while still warm, then carefully transfer to racks to finish cooling.
• Ricciarelli cookies keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

ITALIAN ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream the shortening then beat in the juice, sugar, orange extract and orange zest (mixture will appear curdled) until well combined. Blend in the eggs and beat well.
• Mix in all of the baking powder and flour, 1 cup at a time, blending well. Once you've added 6 cups of flour, add the remaining flour just until mixture can be rolled into a ball (batter will be sticky).
• Refrigerate the dough covered for several hours or even overnight.
• Fill a low dish with sifted icing sugar. Using a small cookie scoop. scoop several balls of the cold dough into a plate. Roll the cookies into a smooth ball then roll in the icing sugar. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 " apart.
• Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, rotating the baking trays half way through the baking process. Do not overbake, cookies should be light in colour.