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Dee Dee Rutigliano’s
Ricciarelli

Soft Almond Paste Cookies from Siena, Italy

NUMBER OF SERVINGS: 48 PREP TIME: 30 minutes COOK TIME: 12-15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of unroasted almonds
1 lb of almond paste
1 large egg white
½ tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of vanilla
Confectioners’ powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
In a food processor, grind the almonds into a fine powder. In a mixer, combine almonds,
almond paste, egg white, baking powder, and vanilla on the lowest speed. Thoroughly mix.
Dough should be firm.

Shaping: Transfer dough to a powdered sugared surface. Use the powdered sugar to keep
your hands and the surface from becoming sticky. Break off pieces of the dough and roll
into logs about 1-inch in diameter. Slice the logs at 2-inch intervals. Shape each piece into
a diamond. Place each ricciarelli on a parchment lined baking sheet. When finished, sift
powdered sugar over all the cookies.

Baking: Pre-heat oven to 300° F. (Be careful about using a convection setting if your oven has
one, the cookies may get too brown.) Bake until the tips are ever so lightly tan —about 12-15
minutes. You want these to be soft on the inside. If you love almonds, then you will never be
the same after these!

*These happen to be gluten free! These can be vegan if you replace the egg white with a Flax
Egg. Flax Egg recipe: 1 Tablespoon of Ground Flax Seed and 2 ½ tbsp of Water.
Add ground flax seed to water and stir. Let rest 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipe in place
of egg white.

DEE DEE RUTIGLIANO, MS, RN is an Instructor of Clinical Nursing in the School of Nursing.
During this season of “thanks,” I am most grateful for having a healthy family, a wonderful
place to work, and the opportunity to engage with our magnificent nursing students!