Vegan Orange Almond Cookies - Italian Ricciarelli

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Our Vegan Orange Almond Cookies are perfect as a dessert and as a mid-afternoon coffee break. Traditionally, these beautiful cookies are eaten in Italy during the cold days of winter.

They are very soft and moist when you bite into them, and bursting with orange and almond flavour.

Our recipe follows the original Tuscan tradition of Ricciarelli di Siena, but without eggs, for a final product that has the same texture and flavour as the original.

In Italy, these cookies are typically served on an abundant tray of cookies and accompanied with other types of Italian biscuits and cookies.

In many homes, they are also eaten for breakfast, mid-morning and afternoon snacks - basically at any time!

For example, try making our other delicious cookies, such as Amaretti, Almond Biscotti and Red Wine Cookies. They are all perfect for winter, the holiday season or in summer when you feel like a sweet treat with no eggs and no butter.

Storage

Our Vegan Orange Almond Cookies are best stored in a cool place and stacked in layers inside a sealed tin or glass container.

Separate with baking paper or aluminium foil to prevent them from sticking together. If your cookies are very soft (perhaps you baked them for a shorter amount of time), it is best not to stack them. Instead, simply store them inside a tray covered with film.

A little trick to preserve the humidity of the biscuits is to add a piece of apple or carrot inside the container with the cookies. If you make sure to replace the apple/carrot every day, your cookies will stay moist for longer.

Recipe

Vegan Orange Almond Cookies - Italian Ricciarelli

Author: Chef Nico

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Our Vegan Orange Almond Cookies are perfect as a dessert and as a mid-afternoon coffee break. Traditionally, these beautiful cookies are eaten in Italy during the cold days of winter. They very soft and moist when you bite into them, and bursting with orange and almond flavour. Our recipe follows the original Tuscan tradition of Ricciarelli, but without eggs, for a final product that has the same texture and flavour as the original.

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5 from 4 votes

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 7 mins

Resting time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 22 mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Italian

Servings 15 cookies

Calories 86 kcal

Ingredients

 

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Dry ingredients

• 145 g (1 cups) almond flour or very finely ground almonds
• 70 g (⅓ cups) sugar
• 50 g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 7.5 g (1 tbsp) candied orange or orange zest
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients

• 25 g (2 tbsp) aquafaba this is simply the chickpea water from a can of chickpea
• 5 g (1 tsp) almond extract optional
• ½ tsp vanilla aroma

You'll also need

• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar for the topping

Instructions

 

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• If you use whole almonds, then start by toasting them in the oven at 170C/340F for 15 minutes (unless they are already toasted). Then let them cool down and blend them very finely in a food processor, until you get a very fine almond flour.

  If you use almond flour, you can skip this step.
  
• In a food processor, add the dry ingredients and blend together till they are well mixed. Then transfer to a large bowl.
  
• In a bowl, add the aquafaba - chickpea water - making sure you filter our all chickpea pieces.
  
• With an electric whisk, beat up the aquafaba just like if it were egg whites, until you get a very firm foam.
  
• Scoop the foam into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula gently.
  
• Add the almond aroma and the vanilla aroma and keep incorporating with a spatula till you get a paste/dough.
  
• Transfer the paste/dough onto a worktop, lightly dusted with corn starch.

  With your hands, bring the paste together without kneading it, then form a roll with a diameter of 4cm / 1½ inches. With a knife or pastry scraper, cut the roll into small discs of about 21g of weight. I recommend you weigh them on a scale.
  
• Shape the discs into rhombus shaped biscuits - this is the traditional Italian shape for these biscuits.
  
• Place on a clean plate. Then let rest in the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time let them rest in the freezer for 1 hour.
  
• Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Leave some space between them. Then dust them with powdered sugar.
  
• Bake the biscuits for about 8 to 12 minutes. This depends a lot on the oven. They biscuits are ready when they crack on top. Don't over bake or else they'll loose their shape.
  
• Let cool down for 15 minutes before putting them on a serving platter or eating them.
  

Notes

If you can, use a digital scale for our recipes. This way you'll get the best results.

We use calculateme.com to convert grams to US volume measurements. We believe they have the most accurate conversion algorithm. If you must use cups and spoons, then use the "spoon and level" method. That is, spoon the ingredients into the measuring cup, or measuring spoon. Then level the excess with a knife.

Nutritional Values

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Orange Almond Cookies - Italian Ricciarelli

Amount Per Serving

Calories 86 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Potassium 17mg0%

Carbohydrates 12g4%

Dietary Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 2g4%

Calcium 23mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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