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These Italian Almond-Orange Cookies are light and chewy with an intense orange flavor. Coated in powdered sugar, the crinkled orange insides show through after the cookies bake.

Hi everyone – it’s Jack here, sharing the recipe for my new, favorite cookie – these Italian Almond-Orange cookies. They are truly out of this world!
Martha and I both belong to an Italian recipe Facebook group where someone recently asked for an orange cookie recipe they remembered enjoying in Italy. It was light and chewy with a soft interior like a macaron, and had a crinkled appearance under a coating of powdered sugar.
Several group members chimed in. Some called this cookie by the name Ricciarelli – known as a Tuscan biscuit recipe from the city of Siena, while others referred to them as Acetani.
I honestly don’t know which is correct – and perhaps the name varies based on the region of Italy your family comes from. By either name, they looked identical – and all I knew is that I wanted to try making them.
How do you make Italian Almond-Orange Cookies?
If my earlier mention of macaroons has scared you off – please don’t worry. These cookies were very easy to make.
You’ll start by measuring out 1/3 cup egg whites from eggs that have been separated. This could take anywhere from two to four eggs, depending on the size of the eggs you have on hand. (Don’t throw those egg yolks out – make crème brulee or this vanilla ice cream.)
Whisk the egg whites together with granulated sugar, orange zest, and honey. Add almond flour and baking powder – mixing with a wooden spoon or a spatula until all of the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet. At this point, cover the dough and refrigerate for anywhere between one and 24 hours.
Once you are ready to bake, preheat the oven and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Then start working with the chilled dough – rolling it into a log and cutting it in half. Roll each half into a log – then portion each half into 12 pieces. (After portioning both logs, you will have 24 pieces of dough – yielding two dozen Italian Almond-Orange Cookies once baked.)
Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then roll the ball in the powdered sugar. Place on the cookie sheets and bake.
Your Italian Almond-Orange Cookies will spread a bit as they bake and the tops will crinkle – showing a glimpse of the orange inside. Don’t over bake – the centers of the cookie will be very soft when they come out of the oven.
Allow your Italian Almond-Orange Cookies to cool on the cookie sheet – the outside will become crispy as it cools and the inside will stay nice and chewy.
According to Wikipedia, Ricciarelli are traditionally served Christmas Eve with a sweet dessert wine called Vin Santo. But why wait until then? These Italian Almond-Orange Cookies are so good they should be enjoyed all year round.
See some of my other favorite Italian cookies here:
- Italian Anisette Cookies
- Italian Sesame Seed Cookies
- Italian Toto Cookies
- Crispy Zaletti Cookies
- Pasta Frolla Christmas Jam Cookies
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Italian Almond-Orange Cookies
Ingredients
1/3 cup egg whites (we separated two jumbo eggs and got exactly 1/3 cup of egg whites, but you may need more than two eggs to measure out exactly 1/3 cup)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
Zest of one orange
2 tablespoons honey
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, sugar, orange zest and honey with a whisk until smooth.
Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until moist and all of the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet and combined.
Cover and refrigerate for one hour and as long as 24 hours. I made my dough the night before then baked the next morning.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F with two racks in top two positions.
Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
Roll the dough on your counter with your hands into a fat log and cut it into two equal pieces.
Roll each piece out into logs and cut in half then each piece in half again. Then cut each piece into three. This will give you 24 pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball then roll in the powdered sugar then onto the cookie sheets, 12 per tray.
Bake both together for 15-17 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.
The cookies are done when they start to crackle and flatten out and are slightly browned on the bottom. The centers will be very soft so don’t go by the feel of the cookie and don’t lift off the cookie sheet yet.
As they cool on the cookie sheet, they stiffen up and have a crisp outside and a chewy center.
Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.
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Absolutely delicious! Everybody loved them!!😁
Thanks Tanya!
The baking powder is uncalled for as my cookies spread like crazy. the outcome was dissatisfying, I should have known better not to add the baking powder. Gluten free recipes seldom require baking powder.
Hi Rink – The baking powder makes the cookies puffier (it’s a leavener) not spread out…I think you are blaming the baking powder for another issue. Did you fully chill the dough before baking?
Hi Maria,
I’ve made both the orange and the lemon and the family raved about them on Mother’s Day! Now I’m about to freeze the ones that are left by putting parchment paper in between but they have been out
for 3 days.
Hi Claire – They won’t be quite as fresh as if you had frozen them right after baking, but they should still freeze OK.
These were fantastic! I received many, many compliments and have shared the recipe with several people who asked for it. The fact that these are so easy to make is a huge bonus!! Thank you for this recipe.
You’re very welcome Maria – thank you for sharing!
Really wish you included weights. I think my measurements are off and it affected the cookies, they were sticky nightmares to roll, spread too much and weren’t as puffy as the picture.
Thanks for your feedback Paige and I’m sorry you didn’t see good results. I’ve learned over the years of posting recipes that we will never make everyone happy – when we share recipes with weight measurements readers ask us for volume measurements. We write our recipes based on how we make them ourselves.
Fantastic cookie. I can’t say love enough!
Thanks Kathy!
I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m wondering how long the cookies stay fresh after being baked. Thank you.
Hi Linda – In an airtight container, these cookies should stay fresh for two to three days.
Bravissimo! ✨🌟🥰Thanks for the Holiday Menu!
You’re welcome Allie!
I have bought some Almond soap, and now I’ve been craving Almond cookies. I’m going to try this receipt, but wanted to know. Can you swap the granulated sugar out with Cane sugar? Thank you.
Hi Melissa – I believe you can (although we’ve never tried doing so). My understanding is that granulated and cane sugar are interchangeable in most recipes. Hope the recipe cures your craving! 🙂
The majority of the powdered sugar disappeared into the dough, so they didn’t have that snowy look. Not sure why that happened?
I’m not sure either Katrina – you can always sprinkle more on the top after the cookies are baked. And, if you try the recipe again, you can really thickly coat the cookie dough balls with powdered sugar – that might help!