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Cookies with Nuts
Amaretti
Amaretti di Lucia (Italian almond cookies, with white and brown sugar; flavored with Grappa; coated with icing sugar)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Any time & special times
Contributed by: Anna-Maria Benvenuto

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Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 bottle almond extract [50 ml]
1 cup vegetable oil
1 shot of Grappa [ 1 1/2 ounces]
3 teaspoons Magic baking powder
2 cups ground almonds
Flour as much as is needed

For coating
Icing sugar

Original Italian Text
3 uova
2 t zucchero -- 1 t. bianco e 1 nero
1 bocetto eserro mandorle
1 t. oglio
1 bichierino picolo grappa
3 c. te magichi
2 t. mandorle macinate
Farine fare las pasta ne duro ne mole. Poi girare nel zucchero velo. Fare uno poline. Metere al forno 350.



Directions

Mix dry ingredients with wet ones, gradually adding flour until you get a cookie dough that is neither soft nor hard.

Form small balls with the cookie dough.

Roll each ball in icing sugar.

Place each dough ball on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, making sure that 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 at 350 degree [for 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, often naming the recipe after the person who gave it to her (The one in this entry was provided to her by her friend, Lucia). 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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