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Cari amici,
What a special time of the year with family and friends! Gina and Mary will be together in Dallas for a couple of weeks - some cooking and of course, baking. Both of us wish you all
Buon Natale e Felice Hanukkah! May your new year be filled with joy, peace and love.
Gina and Mary
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Christmas Cookies
Christmas is the time for cookies and we've been seeing lots of great photos on Facebook and Pinterest from friends, family and clients. Even though Italy doesn't have the cookie tradition that Northern Europe has, there are still some wonderful cookies that are our Italian favorites, like Pizzelles, amaretti and biscotti.
You need a special iron for pizzelles but biscotti are easy and versatile. You can make them extra dry and crunchy for dipping in hot chocolate or dark roast coffee (Gina's and Mary's favorite!), or keep them softer and easier to chew. The special iron for pizzelles can be ordered online from Fante or your favorite kitchen store.
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Biscotti
Biscotti mean "twice cooked" and are Italian dipping cookies that are baked twice, once in the form of a log and the second time as individual cookies. My grandmother made them with anise seeds and almonds and we dipped them in coffee on Christmas morning. You can add any combination of nuts and dried fruit and even dip them in dark chocolate for a festive cookie. Two of my favorites are dried cherries/hazelnuts and dried cranberries/ pistachio.
3 cups flour
1 � sugar
1 teas baking powder
Grated zest from one orange
3 eggs
3 tbsp melted butter
1 teas vanilla or almond extract
1 � nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, or hazelnuts)
1 cup dried fruit (cherries, currants, or cranberries)
Mix the dry ingredients together, grate in the orange zest and make a well in the middle of the flour mix. Add the eggs, butter and extract in the well and begin to beat the eggs with a fork. Gradually pull in all the flour until incorporated and then add the nuts and dried fruit, stirring to combine. Turn the mixture onto a floured board. If it is very sticky, continue to add flour until the dough is dry enough to handle. Break the dough into three equal parts, roll each part into a log as long as the baking sheet and place on parchment paper on the baking sheet. Bake at 375 until golden brown and set. Take the logs out and cut them on a diagonal into individual cookies. Return the cookies to a 300 degree oven and allow them to dry out.
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Wednesday, Feb. 4