Zoe Cuisine

Amaretti Cookies

This is a great cookie recipe I picked up this week while assisting with an Italian cooking class at BU. Since we had limited time to create a multi course meal, this cookie was chosen for dessert because of its simple preparation and quick cooking time. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the list of only four ingredients and saw that the recipe called for no butter or oil. These cookies could technically be called low fat, and are definitely gluten free. They have a crunchy exterior and chewy interior which reminds me of the French style macaroon cookies that I ate in Paris. The almond flavor is the star in this recipe, so if you love this nut as much as I do you have to give it a try. These are a great way to end a meal when you want something slightly sweet but not heavy. These are also great when crumbled over fresh fruit. 

Amaretti Cookies Ingredients: 1 lb. shelled blanched almonds, whole or sliced 2 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 large egg whites, at room temperature Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut sheets of parchment to fit 4 cookie sheets (or make in batches). In a food processor, or by hand, finely chop the almonds. Do not over process. You don't want a fine powder, and it is ok to have some chunks of almonds, you want some texture (see picture). Place the almonds in a large bowl, add the sifted sugar and baking powder. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. You can do this by hand, with a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Gently fold the egg whites into the almond/sugar mixture with a rubber spatula a little at a time until combined. The batter will be very thick. Using a tablespoon, shape the batter into small balls and place on the cookie sheet leaving about 1" space between the cookies. They will spread considerably while baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown. Let them cool completely before removing from the tray or they will break. You can slide the parchment paper with the cookies on it onto a rack to cool. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies. Adapted from Mary Ann Esposito

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Biscotti Two Ways

I am usually in class Monday through Thursday, but this week we had a slightly different schedule so I ended up being at home yesterday. On top of that, Jay is traveling for business so I also had the house to myself. I figured it would be the perfect day to do some "homework" testing a recipe I had learned at school to see if I would have success making it on my own. Biscotti was my choice.

Now my husband is very supportive of my cooking endeavors, however what he is not in support of is making a huge mess in the kitchen. So I tend to tread a little lightly when I bake and he's home. Since I am not a super confident baker (YET), I tend to get a wee bit messy. The last thing I want to do when I am trying to focus on whether or not the butter and sugar are creaming properly is rinse dishes or wipe up flour. So yesterday I put on the apron and created a little chaos in the kitchen by making two types of biscotti - chocolate pistachio and dried cherry and cashew - as well as a chocolate cayenne spiced cashew cookie. The Biscottis came out really well. I used a basic recipe from school and added my own flavor combinations. The chocolate cayenne cookie still needs a little work - that was my major experiment of the day so that recipe isn't getting posted yet! 

Biscotti is a surprisingly easy cookie to pull together. You can mix all the ingredients in a bowl with no special equipment. The recipe I used for Biscotti uses no butter at all. I think the end result tastes great, not too sweet and nice and crunchy which is just the way I like it. 

Cashew & Dried Cherry Biscotti

You can do about a million variations with this recipe - any type of nuts will work, and the addition of dried fruit or chocolate chips is nice too. I picked dried cherries and cashews because that is what I had in the cupboard. The traditional recipe just uses whole unblanched almonds.

This recipe is for a big batch - about 24-48 Biscotti depending on how long or wide you form the dough. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups nuts - blanched whole almonds, whole raw cashews, toasted pecans, roasted pistachios etc

1/2 cup dried cherries

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon; stir well to combine. Stir in the nuts you have chosen and any dried fruit or other additions. In another bowl wisk the eggs with the vanilla then use a rubber spatula to stir them into the dry ingredients. Continue to stir until a stiff dough forms.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Roll each half under the palm of your hands into a cylinder a little shorter than your baking sheet. Place the logs on the sheet and press down gently with the palm of your hands to flatten. Now you can make skinny logs which will make small Biscotti, or you can make fat logs that will make long Biscotti. The choice is yours. I went for the fatter-longer Biscotti so this is what my dough looked like. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the logs are well risen, have increased in size and are firm when pressed. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

When cooled, place a log on a cutting board and slice on the bias with a serrated knife into pieces that are about 1/3 - 1/2" thick. Place the slices back on a cookie sheet and bake for another 15-20 minutes at 350 or until well toasted. Remove from the oven and cool.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti This recipe is for a half batch - about 12-24 Biscotti 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Ghiradelli 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped from a bar 1/2 cup roasted shelled pistachios Follow the same instructions as above, mixing the dry ingredients and nuts together, and the eggs and vanilla together and then combining. Follow the same process of baking the log of dough (there will only be 1 in this recipe), then slicing and baking again. This recipe will bake for the same amount of time. Biscotti can last up to one month if stored in an airtight container. Enjoy!

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Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

These are my all time favorite cookies because they taste amazing and require such little effort. I almost always have all the ingredients on hand so they can be whipped up in a flash if a sweet craving comes on. This is a great recipe to make for any friends with a wheat allergy.

1 cup brown sugar (you may substitute white granulated if you prefer)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup smooth peanut butter, such as Jif

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl thoroughly. The batter will be thick and sticky.

Using a tablespoon, drop the cookies onto a nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press each cookie down slightly with your fingers to flatten.

Bake for around 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

The cookies will still be very soft, but they firm up as they cool.

Variation - add chocolate chips to the batter, or press an indent into the center of each cookie and fill with your favorite jam.

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Coconut Macaroons

14 oz sweetened shredded coconut

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra large egg whites, preferably at room temerature

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine coconut, condensed milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. 

Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wisk attachment until the make medium-firm peaks (a hand mixer can also be used).

Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using a 1 3/4" diameter ice cream scoop or a tablespoon. This recipe makes approximately 2 doz cookies.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and serve. These may be drizzled with melted chocolate for an even more decadent treat.

These cookies can be stored in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

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