These classic Italian almond cookies are very easy to make, and extremely easy to eat. Intensely nutty and perfectly sweet. Chewy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. What more could you want in a cookie?

Pasticcini are small, cookie-size pastries that you’d buy in a pasticceria or bakery, served as a dessert, but also amazing next to steaming-hot cup of coffee or tea.
INGREDIENTS:
YIELD: about 22 cookies
3 cups (300 gr) almond flour
1 cup (200 gr) sugar
pinch of salt
zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 egg whites (medium eggs)
powder sugar for dusting, about 1/4 cup (optional)
about 22 whole almonds (one for each cookie).

TIME: 15 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes to bake
Preheat the oven to 325° F (165° C).
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour with the sugar, salt and lemon zest.

Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and egg whites. Mix well until you get a soft and still a little sticky dough. Add more egg white if the dough is too dry, or a little more almond flour if too wet.

Roll the dough into balls, about one tablespoonful each. Roll into the powdered sugar, if you like. These cookies are also great without the white sugar on the outside.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Top each cookie with an almond. And bake at 325° F (165° C) for about 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden at the bottom and around the edges. Let cool down and enjoy!

Recipe by: Cooking with Manuela