Ricciarelli are traditional Italian

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

s – specifically, a type of macaroon – originating in 14th century Siena. It is considered one of the signature sweets of Siena, in addition to

panforte Panforte is a traditional chewy Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts. It is similar to a florentine but much thicker, or a little like a lebkuchen. Known throughout all Italy, it is a Christmas tradition associated most especially with the ...

, cenci, and cavallucci.

Background

Legend holds that they were introduced by Ricciardetto della Gherardesca in his castle near Volterra upon his return from the Crusades. He purportedly said that the "foreign biscuits curled like the Sultan's slippers". The modern biscuit does not exhibit curling. In medieval times, they were known as ''marzapanetti alla senese'' or ''morzelletti''. They acquired the name ''ricciarelli'' in the 1800s. An alternative etymology, from the Treccani Italian dictionary, indicates the word
ricciarèlli
is derived from 'rìccio,' meaning 'hedgehog,' perhaps for the original form. Particularly when coated with sliced almonds, the cookie looks like a hedgehog.

Preparation

Today, the biscuits are made using an

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

base with

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

and

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

. When prepared in the traditional method, the almonds are ground with a milling machine, and the finished mix is formed into numerous oval- or lozenge-shaped cookies of about each that are set aside for two days before baking. After baking, they are removed from the oven and allowed to cool for 15 minutes, to prevent the cookies from breaking, before transferring them to wire racks. They may be baked with rice paper, which is trimmed to the shape of the cookie after they have cooled. The rough and crackled surface is usually lightly sprinkled with

confectioner's sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, ...

, and may also be covered in dark chocolate. Ricciarelli are typically consumed at Christmas, served with a dessert wine such as Vin Santo or Moscadello di Montalcino. Packaged cookies sold at retail are traditionally enveloped in a blue paper tissue depicting two winged horses from the

Etruscan Archeological Museum __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

in Volterra.

References

{{Commons category, Ricciarelli Biscuits Italian desserts Christmas food Cuisine of Tuscany Almond cookies Italian products with protected designation of origin