Name: Italian Almond Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 cups (300 gr) almond flour; 1 cup (200 gr) sugar; pinch of salt; zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; 3 egg whites (medium eggs); powder sugar for dusting, about 1/4 cup (optional); about 22 whole almonds (one for each cookie)

Friday, March 2, 2018

Italian Almond Cookies - Pasticcini alle Mandorle

These classic Italian almond cookies are very easy to make, and extremely easy to eat :)
Intensely nutty and perfectly sweet
Chewy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside.
What more could you want in a cookie?

I'm so excited today to share with you the recipe of my favorite Italian pasticcini alle mandorle (almond cookies).

Pasticcini are small, cookie-size fine pastries that you'd buy in an Italian pasticceria or bakery, generally served as a dessert, but also amazing next to steaming-hot cup of coffee or tea. At any time of the day, really!

Almond pasticcini are a traditional Sicilian pastry, similar to paste di mandorla, but common in every part of Italy.

There are a few variations of these almond cookies. You can make them with just almonds, or add a little aroma, like pistachios, amaretti, orange zest, or orange extract ...

For this recipe, you only use large egg whites (save the egg yolk for a frittata or another dessert, like my Torta della Nonna - cream-filled tart topped with pine nuts) .

Because my trees in the backyard are exploding with juicy lemons, in today's recipe I added some lemon zest, just like they do in Puglia. If you try these, I'm sure you'll fall in love too with the perfect balance and combination of almonds and lemon falvor.

Truly a match made in heaven!

I recommend using almond flour to make these cookies, which is made from ground blanched almonds. You could also use ground almond or almond meal (generally made with whole almonds) but the result would be a little more crumbly and not as soft.

You can decorate them on top with a whole almond, just like I did, or a candied cherry. Delicious either way.

And as a final optional-but-highly-recommended touch, roll the almond dough in powdered sugar. It gives a crispy outer shell when baking, and the fun and unique look of these cookies.

Ready to try this recipe?! If you do, I'm sure they'll be your new favorite Italian cookies too!

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INGREDIENTS:

YIELD: about 22 cookies

- 3 cups (300 gr) cups almond flour
- 1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 3 egg whites (medium eggs)
- about 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar for dusting
- about 22 whole almonds (one for each cookie)

PREPARATION:

TIME: 15 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to bake

Preheat the oven to 325° F (165 degrees c ).
In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour with the sugar, salt and lemon zest.

Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and the egg whites. Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon (no need for an electric mixer), until you get a soft and still a little sticky dough. Add more egg white if the dough is too dry, or a little more almond flour if too wet.

Scoop dough and roll into balls, about one tablespoonful each.

Place sugar into a plate or shallow medium bowl, and roll into the white sugar, if you like. These cookies are also great without the powdered sugar on the outside.

Place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Top each cookie with an almond.

Bake in the preheated oven at 325 degrees f (165° C) for about 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden at the bottom and around the edges. Let cool down on the cookie sheet and enjoy!