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Cookies without Nuts
Italian ricotta cookies
Biscotti di Ricotta di Nadine (Italian Ricotta cookies, using eggs and butter; flavored with lemon zest and vanilla)
Originated from: Italy
Occasion: Any time
Contributed by: Anna-Marie Benvenuto

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Ingredients

1 container of ricotta (475 grams)
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter [melted]
2 teaspoons Magic baking powder
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of salt
A pinch of baking soda

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Original Italian Text
1 ricotta 450 gr.
4 t. farina
1 1/2 t. zucchero
2 uove
1 t. burro
2 c. te magich
2 c. te vaniglia
1 c. hino sale
1 punto sodo mucco
1 limone grattugiata
Primo metere tutte le cose secche, poi sbatere il burro e il zucchero, ogingere le uove vaniglia e ricotta, dopo la farine. Metere nel frigider tutto la notte. F 350 per 10 minuti.



Directions

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Beat the butter with the sugar very well.

Beat the eggs with the vanilla; mix the mixture with the ricotta.

Add the flour.

Form the dough into two balls; wrap them plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge overnight.

After the dough has rested for 8 hours or so, take about a tablespoon of dough and using the palms of your hands make small balls, the size of golf balls (If the dough is sticky, dust it with a touch of flour).

Place the balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving ample space between them.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 F degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Cool.

Keep in fridge until needed.


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 Nadine). 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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