Quaresimali Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Toast whole almonds for about 6- 8 minutes.
• Remove and cool.
• Put aside 2 cups of the almonds.
• To the remainder one cup of almonds chop very fine.
• Add the honey to the chopped almonds and mix well.
• Add the brown and white sugar and stir in well.
• In a large bowl beat the two eggs and beat in the soft butter or solid soft margarine.
• Add in the honey/nut/sugar mixture and beat well.
• Add in the dry ingredients and the 2 cups of almonds that were set aside.
• Combine all well and make a stiff dough.
• Divide the dough into two pieces.
• On parchment lined cookie sheets place each and make two logs about 12 inches by 4 inches, flatten slightly.
• Keep 4 inches between logs.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush both logs with the egg wash.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20- 25 minutes, until firm and beginning just to show cracks.
• Remove each log to a wire rack.
• Cool 10 minutes.
• Slice into slices with serrated knife.
• Place back onto parchment lined sheet.
• Bake for 8 minutes.
• Remove and turn slices over.
• Bake another and final 8 minutes, until toasty and golden.
• Remove to wire rack and cool completely.
• Store airtight tin container.
• Will keep month or so at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300° F.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Add superfine sugar slowly, beating until stiff, but not dry, peaks are formed. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa over beaten eggs and use a spatula to combine ingredients well. Don't worry about deflating the mixture. Sift flour over the mixture, again using a spatula to combine ingredients.
• Transfer mixture to a pastry bag equipped with a number 10 tip. (You may substitute a large plastic sandwich bag and snip a 1/4-inch diameter hole off of its corner.) Pipe 2-inch letters of the alphabet onto parchment paper or, preferably, a nonstick baking mat. You can put them close together, because they won't spread. Bake for 12 minutes. If you use parchment paper, then remove the cookies from the paper the moment they come out of the oven. In any case, remove them with a spatula while still warm.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, butter, and almonds in a large mixing bowl. With mixer on low speed, add beaten eggs and vanilla. Mix just until dough holds together.
• Put dough on a floured surface. Cut in half. Roll each piece into a log. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten each log slightly with palm of the hand. Lightly brush the top of each log with egg wash.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from oven. Cut dough diagonally into biscotti. For harder biscotti, return to 300-degree F oven until sufficiently dry.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the brown sugar and honey. Add 1 of the egg whites and mix until evenly blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices into another bowl and add the butter mixture, stirring until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the orange peel and almonds until evenly dispersed. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and form each piece into a log that is 8 inches long by 2 inches thick. Place the logs 3 inches apart on the greased baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg white lightly and brush the tops of the logs with it.
• Bake the logs for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Slice the logs 1/4 inch thick and lay the cookies on the baking sheet. Return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes to dry them out. The cookies will become crisp as they cool, so don't overbake them. Cool on a rack.