Ingredients
1 cup hazelnuts, without skin, lightly roasted, finely chopped
1 1/8 cups almond powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Magic baking powder
4 (extra large) egg whites, beaten till stiff
For rolling
about 1/4 cup icing sugar
Directions
o Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
o Beat egg whites until stiff.
o Mix sugar, Magic baking powder, cinnamon and vanilla powder together.*
o Mix the mixture with the beaten egg whites.
o Incorporate the almond powder to the mixture.
o Fold in the lightly roasted finely chopped hazelnuts.
o Place the container with mixture in the fridge, and let it rest for about 1/2 hour.
o On a floured wooden board (or one lined with plastic wrap) roll out the batter to about 1/4 inch thick (One can place more plastic wrap over the batter and use the palms of one's hands to flatten it out).
o Using a serrated cookie cutter cut out squares of dough about 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches.
o Form each square into a ball and roll in icing sugar.
o Place the balls of dough on a greased cookie sheet (or one lined with parchment paper).
o Flatten the balls of dough a little.
o Bake (middle rack) until done -- about 12 minutes.
*Vanilla powder is easier to incorporate into the beaten egg white mixture, but if it is unavailable, vanilla extract can be used.
Notes
It so happened that I did not have enough hazelnuts to make the traditional "bruti ma buoni" cookies so I added almond powder and found that the result was very satisfactory -- the almond powder thickened the cookie batter but did not take away from the hazelnut flavor. Also, by using about a cup of almond powder rather than a cup of hazelnuts the cost of the cookies decreased, an added bonus. Photo and notes: Mary Melfi. |