Pine & Clementine Ricciarelli

As a child the run up to Christmas was filled with a magic that literally made my toes tingle, the month of December was wide eyed and smile even wider. You see, it was never about the gifts, it was the enchantment of the lights, twinkling like orbs upon candy cane sceptres, the smell of gingerbread that hangs in the air of every street, and the days spend baking with my mum, what little daylight there was illuminating her hands as she manipulated butter and flour into the most wonderous of sweet treats.

These little Italian cookies reminded me of snowballs, coating your face and hands with their sweet snow. As an adult, I my palate has matured, gone are the days when noting could ever be too sweet. So, this year I have added the winter piquancy of pine and clementine, the epitome of frosty days.

Make these, but most of all, make memories, they will last a lifetime (unlike the cookies…)

Imperfectly perfect in every way…

The perfect pairing to a glass or two of fizz..

biscuits, cookies, italian biscuits, dairy free baking, dairy free cookies, easy cookies, easy biscuits

Yield: 20

Author: Suze Morrison

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Pine & Clementine Ricciarelli

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 27 MinTotal time: 47 Min

As a child These little Italian cookies reminded me of snowballs, coating your face and hands with their sweet snow. As an adult, I my palate has matured, gone are the days when noting could ever be too sweet. So, this year I have added the winter piquancy of pine and clementine, the epitome of frosty days.Make these, but most of all, make memories, they will last a lifetime (unlike the cookies…)

Ingredients

• 3-4 Spruce Tips (make sure they are far from any pollutants like roadsides)
• 120g Icing Sugar
• 90g Egg White
• 2 Clementines, zest
• 250g Caster Sugar
• 1 Drop Orange Extract
• 300g Ground Almonds
• Small Pinch Salt
• Cooking Spray to grease

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 170C. Line a large baking tray with a non-stick silicon mat and spray with cooking spray.
2. Roughly chop the spruce tips into small pieces. Add the icing sugar and spruce pieces to a high-speed blender and pulse until broken down. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any larger pieces and divide between two bowls.
3. Add the egg whites to a clean bowl and whip to medium peaks. Add one bowl of the pine sugar and whisk again until thickened. Add the ground almonds, salt, caster sugar, clementine zest and orange extract and fold in with a spoon to form a stiff dough.
4. Using a small ice cream scoop, divide the dough into balls and roll between your hands. Roll each ball into the remaining pine sugar and place on the baking tray. Gently squash an indent with your finger and repeat with the remaining dough.

https://gourmetglow.co.uk/recipes/pine-clementine-ricciarelli

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