Lately, looking at the array of recipes on my blog dedicated to my beloved land, I realized I hadn’t yet proposed these almond pastries, which are indeed delicious almond-based cookies! It’s incredible that I hadn’t published the recipe yet despite having made them last year! But then, as it often happens, other ideas take shape in your mind, and what was planned often gets forgotten. So here I am finally offering you these wonderful traditional Sicilian pastries! In truth, these sweets are now also made in other regions of southern Italy and in many different shapes. However, the true and original ones are almond paste twists topped with a delightful candied cherry or in the version with a whole unpeeled almond. They are very easy to prepare; just follow all the tips I leave in the recipe and have some familiarity with the pastry bag to bake truly irresistible cookies! They will be perfect to accompany tea or as a sweet treat with coffee at the end of a meal! Plus, they are also gluten-free, try them too, you’ll love them!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 25 pastries
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients:
- 2 cups peeled almonds (or almond flour as an alternative)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 egg whites (small or 1 large)
- 2 tbsp cinnamon liqueur (almond liqueur would be ideal)
- 1 vial almond essence
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 candied cherries
- 12 almonds
Tools:
- 1 Pan
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Fork
- 1 Pastry bag
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Parchment paper
Preparation:
To prepare the almond paste base for these pastries, start by grinding the almonds into flour. If you’re using almond flour, skip this step. Place the peeled almonds, previously toasted in a pan for a few minutes, into a mixer with steel blades (fig. 1).
Pulse intermittently to avoid overheating the nuts, which would release their oil, and grind them into powder. Then add the previously sifted powdered sugar gradually (fig. 2).
Transfer the almond and sugar mixture into a large bowl and add the almond essence* (fig. 3).
Also add the cinnamon and mix with a spoon (fig. 4).
Add the egg whites, not whisked to peaks but just slightly foamed with a fork, and continue mixing (fig. 5).
Finally, add the cinnamon liqueur, or ideally, an almond liqueur (fig. 6).
The dough will be ready when it’s compact but soft to the touch** (fig. 7).
Transfer it into a sturdy pastry bag, avoiding disposable ones, and use a wide star nozzle, otherwise, you will have difficulty squeezing the almond paste out. Form your pastries with a diameter of about 1.25 inches directly on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper moistened with a few drops of water on the reverse side, which will prevent it from moving while you create the pastries (fig. 8).
Garnish some of them with halved candied cherries (fig. 9).
Add whole almonds to the rest and place them in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours, covered with plastic wrap. Do not skip this step, it’s very important. Then bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes, placing the baking sheet on the middle rack (fig. 10).
The pastries should not cook too much or darken; rather, they should remain quite pale, otherwise, they will tend to harden, losing their characteristic softness when bitten. Once out of the oven, let them cool on a rack (fig. 11).
Serve them once fully cooled to room temperature.
And voilà… your almond paste pastries are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from Fefé’s kitchen!
Storage
👉 Almond pastries can be stored at room temperature for 2 weeks in a glass container with an airtight seal. This way, they will stay moist and fragrant and won’t dry out too much. Freezing is not recommended.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣* You can replace the almond essence with vanilla essence, or add lemon zest.
** If the dough turns out not soft enough, add a bit more egg white, while if it’s too soft, add almond flour one tablespoon at a time.
*** The height of the pastries is very important; if they’re too low, they will dry out too much during cooking, while if you make more turns, they risk remaining raw. So, the peculiarity of these sweets is the crunchiness only on the surface, but inside they should still be very soft.
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