6 eggs, separated
9 ounces granulated sugar
4 ounces flour
2 ounces potato meal, dried in the sun or on the stove
Taste of lemon peel

for greasing tin
cold butter
powdered sugar
flour

Stir for at least half an hour the yolks of the eggs with the sugar and a tablespoonful only of the flour and meal, using a ladle.

Beat the whites of the eggs until they are quite firm, mix slowly with the first mixture and when they are well incorporated pour over from a sieve the flour and the potato meal, previously dried in the sun or on the fire.

Bake in a tin where the mixture comes about one inch and a half thick, previously greasing the tin with cold butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar mixed with flour.

In these cakes with beaten whites the following method can also be followed: mix and stir first the yolks with the sugar, then put the flour then, after a good kneading, beat the whites until they are firm, pour two tablespoonfuls to soften the mixture, then the rest little by little.

The recipe in this entry was first published in "The Italian Cook Book, The Art of Eating Well, Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine, Pastries, Sweets, Frozen Delicacies and Syrups," compiled by Mrs. Maria Gentile (New York, Italian Book Co., 1919). For the complete copyright-free text visit www.archive.org. P.S. The directions for this recipe are not clear enough. The biscotti are supposed to be cooked in a tin that can include 1 1/2 inch high batter, but it does not say what size the tin should be. Later on in the recipe the author describes the cookies as "cakes" indicating that the tin used might be more than one. Considering the ingredients used, the batter is very thin and would not do well in molds, nor could it be used to make sliced biscotti. I believe the batter would be best baked in paper baking cups, but I am not sure of this. I didn't actually try the recipe because it was far too vague. Comments and photo of generic-style Italian biscotti: Mary Melfi.

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