RECIPE: Don’t let looks fool you. These Italian cookies are ugly, but good.
My approach to cookies is straightforward: I believe in simple, flavorful, never-too-sweet cookies that find their highest potential and best use when dunked in a cup of strong morning coffee (or tea, if that’s your thing).
Given this cookie ethos, it is difficult to do better than the humble brutti ma buoni (ugly but good) biscotti. It is a simple celebration of lightly sweetened almonds and hazelnuts, and it’s an excellent exercise in how deceiving looks can be in the baking world.
Is there a place for perfectly executed fruit tarts, cakes, and cookies that shine like modern art? Of course. But I would wager that a simple, well-made brutti ma buoni cookie is preferable any day and has the added benefit of not requiring an advanced degree in pastry arts.
- 1 cup (143 grams) almonds
- 1/2 cup (35 grams) hazelnuts
- 1 1/4 cup (150 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 lightly beaten egg white
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) almond extract
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread almonds and hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 10 to 15 minutes, until fragrant.
- If hazelnuts have skin, allow to cool slightly, and use a clean towel to rub hazelnuts until the skin flakes off. Let cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- To the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add toasted nuts, powdered sugar and orange zest. Pulse about 15 to 20 times, until the mixture resembles fine meal. Do not over process or a paste will form.
- In a small bowl, combine egg white, almond extract, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk with a fork to break up the egg white. Add egg mixture to nut-sugar mixture and pulse a few times until a dough forms.
- On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, use spoons to scoop cookies 1 tablespoon at a time onto prepared sheet about 4 inches apart. They should be irregular and craggy – hence the name.
- Bake 12 minutes for a softer cookie or up to 15 minutes for a crisper, more dunk-able cookie. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container up to 5 days. Makes 15 cookies.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie: 147 calories (percent of calories from fat, 56), 3 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 10 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 14 milligrams sodium.Chris Wilkins has been a professional baker for 12 years. He is a two-time James Beard Award nominee and the founder and co-owner of Root Baking Co. and Pizza Jeans. Submit your baking questions to bakebetterajc@gmail.com.
