When one thinks of the delicious traditional Tuscan cuisine, one does not imagine that there are even gluten-free and milk-free recipes.

Today intolerances are more and more widespread and consequently the market creates food specifically deprived of gluten and milk but there are some desserts that are already traditionally so like the Sienese ricciarelli!

Let’s discover the ricciarelli

Ricciarelli are a IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) product originating from Siena which are now marketed throughout Italy.

Obviously those freshly baked and taken in the territory have an unparalleled flavor and freshness.

These sweets are made from a mixture of almonds, sugar and egg white, without the addition of yeast, flour or butter.

A medieval tradition that has never been lost

Often in Tuscany some ancient recipes are lost over the years, differently ricciarelli are found on Tuscan tables with a solution of continuity from Middle Ages.

These sweets, similar to marzipan, probably derive from Sienese contacts with the East.

In the Renaissance they are even mentioned by Florentine Niccolò Machiavelli as “small marzipans” offered by the Sienese as a gift to a papal legate present in the city.

Only in the Nineteenth Century did the term ricciarelli appear to define these precious sweets.

Recipe for making ricciarelli at home

If you don’t have the opportunity to go to Tuscany soon but you don’t want to give up these sweets, we have good news for you: the recipe is easy and affordable for everyone.

Ingredients for 25 biscuits:

• Almonds: you can take almond flour (200 grams) or select the same amount of almonds (they must be peeled) and pulverize them with a mixer.
• Egg: only the egg white (2 egg whites). A tip: do not take the eggs directly from the fridge but use them at room temperature.
• Sugar: 200 grams of veiled sugar for the dough, 300 grams for forming and finishing.
• Lemon: a teaspoon of juice.
• Orange: only the finely grated peel. Always better to use an organic orange.
• Vanillin: one sachet.
• Water: 2-3 tbsp.

Method:

1. In a container, combine egg whites, vanilla, grated orange peel, and lemon, stir vigorously with a whisk. As soon as the mixture is frothy and well blended, add almond flour and powdered sugar, continue to whisk, taking care not to create lumps.
2. Transfer the mixture obtained into a transparent film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 day so that it solidifies and perfumes.
3. On a flat surface sprinkle a little icing sugar create earthworms 3 cm wide and divide them into pieces large enough to be worked into the shape of a grain of rice, be dipped again in icing sugar and become your ricciarello. You should get about 25 ricciarelli.
4. Before baking, wet your fingers with water in order to moisten the ricciarelli and to further sprinkle with sugar.
5. Cook for 5 minutes at 150 degrees static mode and then to create the crepes at 170 degrees for another 5 minutes and to finish cooking another 5 minutes but at an intermediate temperature, 160 degrees.
6. Let the biscuits rest for at least an hour before tasting!

The best way to taste Ricciarelli

We are waiting for you at Villa Campestri to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Mugello while you can taste your ricciarelli at the end of lunch or dinner, perhaps with an excellent glass of Vin Santo!