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Cookies with Nuts
Amaretti
Amaretti con il banco di uova (Italian almond cookies, using egg whites, flavored with lemon zest, vanilla and Sambuco)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Any time
Contributed by: Anna-Maria Benvenuto

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Ingredients

1/2 kilo almonds, roasted and ground
350 grams white sugar
a little brown sugar [about 60 grams]
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 shot of Sambuco [1 1/2 ounces]
4 eggs, separated, white only
Flour as much as is needed

For coating
table sugar

Original Italian Text
1/2 kg mandorle, brostolite, maginate
350 gr zucchero biano e un po nero
1 limone gratugiate
1 c. vaniglia
Fare uno poline e pasare zucchero normale



Directions

Separate eggs.

Beat whites of eggs until stiff.

Mix ground roasted almonds with remaining ingredients until a soft amaretti-style dough is formed.

Form small balls with the dough. Coat each ball with regular table sugar.

Place the dough balls on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, making sure there is ample space between the dough balls as they will spread.

Flatten the dough balls a little with the palm of your hands.

Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven [about 350 F degrees] until ready (about 12 minutes).




Notes

Mrs. Anna-Maria Benvenuto has collected hundreds of recipes from relatives, friends and neighbors over the years. She recorded the recipes in Italian in numerous notebooks. Being an avid baker Mrs. Benvenuto tried out many of the recipes herself. Because of her talent and expertise, she did not feel the need to write detailed instructions as she knew how to make the recipes without them. However, when asked by this website's archivist (Mary Melfi) for details, she quickly volunteered the information. Nonetheless, as with most first generation Italian-Canadian handwritten recipes, it is understood that whoever attempts to duplicate them should have some knowledge of what they are doing (Easier said than done).... While Mrs. Benvenuto was born in the Veneto region (in 1938) and has a natural fondness for recipes that come from this area, she found that as soon as she immigrated to Montreal, Quebec in 1952 she developed an instant appreciation for all foods from her homeland.... Photo and English translation of original Italian text: Mary Melfi.

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