These treasures have a crisp, sugar-dusted exterior, with a chewy, lemony-marzipan centre. Traditionally made with almonds, honey, and lemons for that quintessential Italian citrus goodness, these biscuits go perfectly with a chilled glass of the other island specialty, limoncello.
Makes 30-35 cookies
Ingredients:
2 egg whites, room temperature
1 pinch salt
100g caster sugar
320g ground almond
90g honey, can be substituted with 115 grams caster sugar
60 – 120ml lemon juice, about 2 lemons
zest of 3 lemons
½ tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. vanilla extract, optional
75g sliced blanched almonds
¼ cup icing sugar for dusting
Method:
Preheat the oven to 170˚C.
Whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form; sprinkle in the caster sugar and continue to whisk to firm peaks. Use a spatula or the paddle attachment to fold ground almonds into the whites.
If you are substituting the honey with sugar, add the extra ½ cup caster sugar to the ground almonds and add it now.
Add remaining ingredients, except lemon juice and icing sugar.
For a firmer biscuit, use 60ml or so mls of lemon juice; and for a looser, more lemony biscuit, use closer to the 120ml. Slowly add the juice until you have the mixture as you want it. Combine thoroughly.
The biscuits can be spooned individually onto a baking paper-lined baking sheet, or, if using the firmer dough, roll into a log and cut for more uniform shapes. For the latter, lay out a long piece of plastic film and sprinkle a horizontal line of icing sugar across the centre. Add the dough along the line, fold the plastic over and roll it into a long tube, about 4cm diameter. Unwrap the plastic, sprinkle with icing sugar, cut into 3 – 4 cm pieces and arrange on a baking sheet, lined with baking paper.
If you have made a looser dough, spoon the biscuits out onto the baking tray with slightly more room between each for spreading.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through until edges are crisp and golden. Cool completely before removing and dust with additional icing sugar. Store in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
Variation:
For a firmer, crustier biscuit, still just as moist in the centre mix ½ cup sugar together with the almond flour instead of using honey.
