Ricciarelli

Ricciarelli are a type of Italian biscuit, made with ground almonds. A traditional recipe founded in Siena in the 14th century, and often served at Christmas.

But in our house they're present all year round.

Almond is a favourite flavouring in our household, and we first came across these biscuits when we moved to York, at a bakery. They were tiny little biscuits, which came in small packs, and were pretty expensive. But my mum loved them, s despite the price, I bought them each year for her birthday.

They never disappointed. But I decided that perhaps, just perhaps, I could make them myself. I already make the majority of the gifts I give... so why not accept a small challenge?

After a little research I found them [the ones we'd been buying all those years had been given a different name] and started looking for recipes.

I found a basic recipe, added a few 'secret' ingredients [soon to be revealed, hence the inverted commas] and got started.

A couple of attempts later, I had the results I needed. Since then, there have been 3 birthdays, mothers days, Christmases, and countless Sundays, where these have made an appearance.

The key to these biscuits is time. The mix is left overnight for the ground almonds to soak up all the moisture - this way when they're baked they remain wonderfully soft and chewy on the outside, while the edges brown and crack.

Now when I make them, I'll make the mix and shape the biscuits in the evening, leave covered overnight, and then bake in the morning before work / the rest of the day. It's a great smell to wake up to!

These soft almond cookies boast not only a delicious almond flavour but also the addition of orange and lemon essence, cutting through the sweetness just enough. A light dusting of icing sugar echoes the meringue like qualities of the uncooked dough.

They're also gluten free - bonus! Even celiacs can enjoy these little treats. And dairy free! Unless you're vegan, these are safe.

To sum up

they're good. Really good.

So whether it's a Sunday, or perhaps practising for Christmas, these biscuits are definitely worth a run through.

Ricciarelli

3 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
zest of 1 lemon
zest of half an orange
1 tsp orange essence
1 1/2 tsp almond essence
About 1 3/4 cups ground almonds

Beat egg whites and salt until stiff peaks are formed. Add sugar and beat again until glossy.

Add the zest and essences, and then switch to a wooden spoon to fold in the almonds.

Once the mix has formed one mass of dough, divide into small pieces and shape as desired.

Cover over and leave overnight, or for at least 8 hours. This cannot be skipped - without this time the biscuits will be hard and dry when cooked.

Bake for 30-35 minutes in a very low oven, about 140 degrees, until the tops begin to crack.

Leave to cook completely before dusting in icing sugar and serving.

Chocolate Orange Cookies

So remember that time I didn't write anything for a couple of weeks and was like, 'woah, that's
ridiculous, i'm so sorry guys, I'm sure I'll get my act together and start posting more from now on'.

And then I went almost 5 weeks without posting?

My bad.

It's not like I haven't been baking. I assure you. I've developed some great halloween recipes for the bakery at the shop where I work. I made a pretty beautiful spiced chocolate orange tart. Marshmallows, candy floss, various biscuits, and a couple of cakes I'm working on perfecting before I share them with you.

But none of it made it on to here because of timings. Oops.

Undocumented: Chocolate Teacakes.

Sometimes, cake stays in my kitchen for days on end.

Friends are away. Neighbours are busy. I don't fancy eating the entire collection of my baking exploits.

So it sits and sits feeling unwanted, until someone returns to eat it.

... this is a rare occurrence.

But an equally rare, completely opposite phenomena occurred last week.

I made something good. Really good.

And it all disappeared before I even had time to wonder how to photograph them. So this post, while glorious in the recipe I'm about to give you...

...has only a couple of instagram photos to its name.

I blame myself. And my mum. And the people at work who ate them all. And Sophia. She ate some too.

But hey, it means they were good, right?

If you're British, you might recognise where I'm going with the above photo. If you don't, you've been deprived.

Fresh Coconut Cupcakes

I started a new job this week. [!]

Busy busy busy! But learning a lot and this year is shaping up to be pretty exciting. I made these last week, but time just gets away from you sometimes. We can still be friends, right?

I made you a cake.

Life got busy again. Fast. But there'll always be time to experiment with butter and sugar.

And in this case, fresh coconut. Fresh coconut is seriously underrated in baking.

Lemon & Berry Marble Loaf

I'm a big fan of chocolate.

... have you noticed? Maybe it's too subtle. It's not like I bake with it a lot.

But there are other flavours out there [where exactly is there?] to be using. A close second in my list of favourite flavours is Lemon. Such a bright flavour. Does that make sense? It did in my head. Lemon can make most things more enjoyable [unless they already involve chocolate... don't fix it when it 'aint broke and all.] It's pretty great, as far as flavours go.

Grasshopper Bars

I am, and always have been, a huge fan of chocolate and mint as a combination.

Is it a Christmas flavour? It always seems to appear more often around the holiday season. But weather permitting I'd drink peppermint hot chocolate all year round.

Chocolate Malt frosting.

Sometimes, I'll bake something I have planned in advance. I'll have the recipe in my mind for a week [or maybe more], i'll have to plan ahead for an occasion on which I will have appropriate recipients for said cake, and I'll make sure I have the ingredients in the house at the right time.

Sometimes, I just decide I need to bake something, and scour the cupboards for anything and everything that  catches my attention.

These cupcakes are a result of scenario no. 2.