These Sicilian biscuits (or small pastries) are gluten-free, dairy-free, delicious and very easy to prepare! It is better to use a piping bag to shape the biscuits, but if you don’t have one, you can roll out the dough with your hands to make small balls and then press them with your fingers, to obtain a cookie-like shape.
The dough needs, at least, 30 minutes of resting time, however they will taste even better if you leave them to rest in the fridge overnight. Traditionally, we garnish these biscuits with candied cherries or almonds, so if you want you can use both. Here I prepared some of these delicious pastries with my mother, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Biscuits with almonds and candied cherries.
Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes + resting time
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
For two oven trays
3 egg whites
80 g sugar
200 g almonds, shelled and finely chopped
candied cherries
a few drops of almond flavouring, or some orange zest (optional)
Method.
1. Grind the almonds with the sugar, using a food processor.
2. Combine the egg whites with the almond mixture and the flavourings, then put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Using a piping bag, shape the biscuits and then garnish with candied cherries.
4. Bake at 180 ° C (356° F) until golden.
Dolcetti alle mandorle con ciliegie candite.
Preparazione e cottura: 25 minutes + il riposo
Difficoltà : Facile
Ingredienti
Per 2 teglie rettangolari di media grandezza.
3 chiari d’uova
80 g di zucchero
200 g di mandorle sgusciate e tritate finemente
ciliegie candite q. b.
1 qualche goccia di aroma di mandorle, oppure una scorretta di arancia tritata (facoltativo)
Preparazione.
1. Tritate finemente le mandorle con lo zucchero.
2. Mescolate i chiari d’uova con le mandorle tritate, lo zucchero e gli aromi. Mettete il composto a riposare in frigorifero per almeno 30 minuti.
3. Usando il sac à poche, date la forma ai pasticcini (oppure formate delle palline e schiacciatele leggermente con le dita).
4. Guarnite i pasticcini con le ciliegie candite, poi infornate a 180° C fino ad ottenere dei dolcetti dorati.
Foodfulife 
These will be perfect for the holidays. Enjoying your photos, especially the last one. How I would love to emulate your style! 😃
My mother and I made these pasticcini on Sunday and they literally lasted 3 minutes!! 🙂 I am glad, Angie, that you enjoy my photos, It means a lot to me! Thank you!! XX
I love these little “petit fours” 🙂 Serena, these Pasticcini are very popular in Algeria!
I am not surprised, Sicilian cusine has quite a lot of influences from North Africa and the climate is perfect for growing almond trees… Have a wonderful weekend my friend! X
You too, Serena xx
Love the pictures! Definitely going to try..thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you, I am glad that you enjoyed the post! Give it a try! My family really enjoyed, they were all gone after only a few minutes! This is usually a good sign… 🙂
Love these cookies and your photos are amazing! 🙂
Thank you Ronit, you are always very kind! 🙂
Che buoni questi biscotti!!!!!!! mi fanno pensare alla mia infanzia! a casa di mia nonna non mancavano mai!Buona serata!
Il sapore dolcissimo delle case dei nonni! Quanti meravigliosi ricordi!! Ciao, buona serata! X
So so pretty!! These look like cookies my grandmother (from Switzerland, not Italy) used to make at Christmas! Thanks for the reminder!
I think they are very popular in many places, I don’t really know where they originally come from…Here we call them Sicilian pastries, because in Sicily almond trees are everywhere, so these sweets are very popular…But, originally, I think they probably come from warmer countries.
I’ll give them a try this Christmas!! thanks Serena.
Thank you darling! It’s always a pleasure!! XX
Serena, your photos are so beautiful, and this cookie recipe looks wonderful!
~ Anna
Thank you so much Anna!! ❤ these cookies are truly special! If you like almonds you'll love them!