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Ingredients 4 ounces of almonds, blanched
Directions Take 4 ounces of almonds and remove the skins by boiling them and then drying them.
Notes The recipe in this entry was taken from the book, "Cucina Teorico-pratica" by Ippolito Cavalcanti (Naples: Di G. Palma, 1839). For the complete copyright-free Italian cookbook visit www.archive.org.... P.S. I tried these cookies and they are quite pleasant, not in dramatic way, of course, as they don't include much flavoring, but they are nice enough. Most of Cavalcanti's cookie recipes don't include a lot of flour, but they do use a lot of eggs (Great for those who follow a high-protein diet!). Also, in most of Cavalcanti's cookie recipes the egg whites are beaten stiff, and the egg yolks are creamed with sugar. The reason for this is simple -- in the first half of the 19th century baking powder was not in use, it only became popular round 1903. Wikipedia notes: "Early chemical leavening was accomplished by activating baking soda in the presence of liquid(s) and an acid such as sour milk, vinegar, lemon juice, or cream of tartar. These acidulants all react with baking soda quickly, meaning that retention of gas bubbles was dependent on batter viscosity and that it was critical for the batter to be baked before the gas escaped. The development of baking powder created a system where the gas-producing reactions could be delayed until needed. While various baking powders were sold in the first half of the 19th century, our modern variants were discovered by Alfred Bird in 1843. August Oetker, a German pharmacist, made baking powder very popular when he began selling his mixture to housewives. The recipe he created in 1891 is still sold in Germany. Oetker started the mass production of baking powder in 1898 and patented his technique in 1903...." So back in 1836 when Cavalcanti published his now famous book, the only way a home cook could get cookies to have that "light airy" texture beloved by one and all was by creaming the egg yolks and beating the egg whites to a stiff mountain peak. Nowadays this doesn't require much effort (Electric egg beaters do all the work!), but back then, cooks and their assistants had it tough (I vaguely recall that in the 1960s when my Zia Teresa made cookies, as she didn't then own an egg beater, she used two forks to beat her egg whites to a stiff peak -- it would take her about half of an hour, and she did not stop for a second!). The 21st century does have its perks. Thank God for Hydro Quebec and its many global clones. Comments and photo: Mary Melfi. |