Prep Time : 20 Minutes | Cook Time : 20 Minutes | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy
Hello my lovelies! I’m sorry for the disruption to the scheduled programming – sometimes life gets in the way!
So those of you who have been following along may have realised that I have something of a cookbook problem… For reference my Book Depository wishlist is four pages long… Nuff said. One of my recent acquisitions was a lovely book about Sicilian baking called Sweet Sicily. When it arrived I was a little tired and panicked that I had been sent a book entirely in Italian but it was just because the recipes were given in Italian first and then in English. Phew!! This is the simplest of all the recipes and adapted very slightly. I apologise to any and every Italian who knows what a true Biscotti di Mandorla should be like – I claim no authenticity, just deliciousness!
So I mentioned a project in the title and it is also related to a book purchase (quelle surprise!) As I have moved into my second year of blogging I have been thinking of ways to stay motivated and also get better at what I do. It’s really important to me to develop and share the most delicious recipes I can with you all and part of that is improving my knowledge and skills. Which all means I am going to attempt to cook through this book:
In theory it will give me a good foundation of technique and also provide limitless entertainment potential for you lovely readers! And the first chapter is about pies and tarts so it’s like it’s meant to be… So look forward to hearing about my adventures in french pastry – the sweet and the not-so-sweet! There will be triumphs and tears, and lots of new things to pass on to you guys – can’t wait to get stuck in!
I said something about cookies before right? We all need them after that mega-intro!
Preheat the oven to 180C (35oF). Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set aside. Put all the ingredients except the egg whites into the food processor and pulse to combine. Whisk the egg whites in a cup with a fork for about 20 seconds to blend them and break them up a bit. With the processor running, pour the egg whites into the funnel a bit at a time until a soft sticky dough forms. Depending on the size of your eggs you may need all three or slightly less. The dough does need to be sticky for the coatings to stay on the outside well.
Scoop tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. You will need to dust your hands with flour from time to time as the dough is very sticky. Roll the balls in the various coatings as desired until well covered. Place the balls onto the prepared sheets and flatten to half an inch thick with your palm.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden (where cookie is peeking out) and firm to the touch. They will puff and spread slightly and the size and shape of the coating will affect this. Small pieces of nuts and sprinkles don’t affect it much but slivered almonds and larger things will keep the cookies a little smaller. All are equally delicious so don’t worry!
Let the cookies set for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies are sweet and packed with aromatic lemony almond-y flavour – an excellent addition to a Christmas cookie tray or a lovely home made gift. If you can stop yourself eating them all beforehand…
PS: with Thanksgiving over it’s all Christmas all the time now y’all.
Simple Almond Cookies (Biscotti di Mandorla)
Prep Time : 20 mins | Cook Time : 20 mins | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 20-25 cookies
Soft chewy simple almond cookies – utterly addictive!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (200 grams) ground almonds
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 2-3 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of a lemon
- to coat any or all of: sanding sugar, sprinkles, sugar pearls, pine nuts, sliced or slivered almonds, chopped pistachios, about a tablespoon per cookie
- a little flour to dust hands while shaping cookies
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- food processor
- 2 cookie sheets lined with baking paper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180C (35oF). Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set aside. Put all the ingredients except the egg whites into the food processor and pulse to combine.
Whisk the egg whites in a cup with a fork for about 20 seconds to blend them and break them up a bit. With the processor running, pour the egg whites into the funnel a bit at a time until a soft sticky dough forms. Depending on the size of your eggs you may need all three or slightly less. The dough does need to be sticky for the coatings to stay on the outside well.
Scoop tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. You will need to dust your hands with flour from time to time as the dough is very sticky. Roll the balls in the various coatings as desired until well covered. Place the balls onto the prepared sheets and flatten to half an inch thick with your palm.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden (where cookie is peeking out) and firm to the touch. They will puff and spread slightly and the size and shape of the coating will affect this. Small pieces of nuts and sprinkles don’t affect it much but slivered almonds and larger things will keep the cookies a little smaller. All are equally delicious so don’t worry!
Let the cookies set for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cook’s Notes:
- the best coatings for these cookies are nuts, sugars and small sprinkles. Large sprinkles and sugar pearls can be hard without adding much flavour so they will look great but be less enjoyable to eat.
- if you aren’t a fan of the traditional lemon, you could mix up the flavours of these cookies with a little cinnamon and nutmeg
- these cookies are equally awesome in bite size – make the balls about half a tablespoon in size and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and firm to the touch
– These cookies will keep well in an airtight container for a couple of weeks but will lose moisture over that time –
Adapted from Sweet Sicily.
© 2015 The Winsome Baker. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
They look delicious 🙂
Thanks!
I’m intrigued by this recipe since it’s both similar to and simpler than my favorite almond cookie recipe! I think I need to run a taste test and make them both!!
Sounds like a plan! There can never bee too many cookies 🙂
Congrats on your second year of blogging! These cookies look amazing. Just curious, what are the little circles on the cookies? Are they some sort of crunchy sugar balls?
They are sugar pearls – they look great but aren’t as tasty as coating the cookies with nuts!