Almond Cookies - Soft
Southern Italian Desserts: Rediscovering the Sweet Traditions of Calabria, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, and Sicily Hardcover – October 8, 2013
by Rosetta Costantino (Author), Jennie Schacht (Author)
Ingredients
- 12/3 cups (250 g) blanched almonds
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 tablespoons mild-flavored honey, such as clover or orange blossom
- 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, finely chopped pistachios or hazelnuts, sliced almonds, or whole pine nuts, for coating
Preparation
Step 1
Pasticcini di Mandorla soft almond cookies
MAKES ABOUT 36 SMALL COOKIES | GLUTEN FREE
These little almond cookies are found all over Sicily and often in other parts of Southern Italy as well. They are pretty piped with a star tip into rosettes or into S shapes, but you needn’t be adept at piping; more often they are simply formed into balls and rolled either in confectioners’ sugar or chopped nuts before baking, as I have done here.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
or a silicone baking mat.
Combine the almonds and granulated sugar in a food processor and process until they have the texture of fine meal, scraping the bowl down occasionally to evenly grind the nuts.
Transfer the almonds to a bowl and use a spatula to mix in the egg whites, honey, and almond extract until evenly combined.
To pipe the cookies:
spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (Ateco #826), or use a ziplock bag and cut a 1/2-inch opening in one corner. Refrigerate the dough for an hour to help the cookies hold their shape when piped and baked, then pipe thirty-six cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops lightly with granulated sugar and lightly press a whole blanched almond, candied cherry, or piece of candied orange peel into the tops before baking.
To roll the cookies instead of piping:
(Refrigerate dough for 1 hour?)
Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out level tablespoons of the dough, making thirty-six cookies in total. Roll each dough piece between your palms to form a ball.
You can coat the cookies all in confectioners’ sugar or a single type of nut, or make an assortment by using several different coatings. Whichever you choose, place each coating in a separate shallow bowl.
To coat the cookies, roll one ball in a topping (confectioners’ sugar or nuts), firmly pressing the nuts into the dough with your hands.
Continue to coat all the cookies, transferring them to the prepared baking sheet as you form them, allowing 1 inch all around each cookie for spreading.
.
Bake the cookies until they are light golden and still soft to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.