Sicilian Pistachio Cookies (gluten-free)

Greetings, Dear Readers.

I feel a bit out of sorts posting a simple cookie article after yesterday's horrible event in Las Vegas (I wrote it last week). Even though I feel depressed and at a loss to come to terms with the senseless violence, and our government's inability to take serious action about realistic gun control, sometimes it does help to cook or bake to relieve some of the stress and anxiety (I know it helps me). Even better would be to invite friends and/or neighbors for a meal, or "coffee and..." to talk peacefully and calmly, or simply to just be together. I hope you and your loved ones are safe.

--------------------

While summer is my fave season, I do love the Fall - the warm days/chilly nights, country drives, throwing on a cute little jacket, and the luscious flavors of Fall - plums, pumpkins, pistachios, cinnamon, cardamom. 

Last year at this time I was in Sicily (read about my trip here and here). Ahhhhhh. Beautiful, mysterious, complicated, delicious Sicily. How I loved that trip! Feeling a bit “homesick” for my ancestral homeland, I needed to make something to help me get back there virtually. 

Mt Etna's volcanic landscape

The adorable donkeys of Etna Donkey Trekking

That’s when I came across this recipe on Food52 for Sicilian Pistachio Cookies. Pistachios are a huge part of Sicily’s agriculture, especially near Mt Etna, which we visited. We were taken in by the otherworldly volcanic landscape of Etna. The mountain had just erupted a couple of months before we were there and black lava was everywhere.  The trusty, adorable donkeys of Etna Donkey Trekking carried us over craters, through ancient forests, and afforded us panoramic views otherwise impossible. I highly recommend this excursion if you visit the Catania area.

Back to the cookies! These little gems are SO easy to make, and as a bonus to people who need to watch their gluten intake - they are GF! The cookies have it all: crunch, spice, citrus - a trifecta of deliciousness! 

crunch, citrus, spice pre-rolling

What are your favorite Fall recipes? Do they bring back memories of a favorite trip? Leave a note below. And let me know if you bake these cookies!

Enjoy!

Full recipe here!

Lessons from "Baking Fails"

A few weeks ago, I came upon a recipe for a cookie that caught my eye. It’s called “torcetti,” a type of old-school Italian sugar cookie. It’s a bit unusual as it is made with yeast, which most cookies do not have. Besides yeast, the recipe called for European-style butter which I had never used so this intrigued me. I gathered up the ingredients and went to work.

But first a little history. According to the website, Turin Epicurian Capital, these cookies date back to around 1700. An article supposes that during around that time, while waiting for bread to bake in community ovens, some of the bakers took leftover dough, shaped it into a type of breadstick, coated them with sugar or honey, formed them into little “twists,” and baked them. Voila - torcetti! 

There are a zillion recipes for torcetti out there. I used one from Food52, one of my trusted sites, and I liked the fact that it recommended an overnight rise.

Torcetti from Food52

Off I went to work! Followed the recipe to the letter - used a thermometer to test the water temperature to dissolve the yeast; placed the dough in the oven for the first rise; creamed the softened butter and added it to the dough. You get the idea…

My first pangs of fear that this was turning into a “baking fail,” was trying to incorporate the butter into the dough. It took forever and a lot more flour than called for to get a non-sticky, manageable dough. Finally, it came together! Since I was utilizing the overnight rise, I covered the dough with plastic wrap and placed the bowl in the fridge.  

The next morning, giddy with anticipation, I pulled the dough from its’ chilly slumber, and stared at the bowl in disbelief. It had not risen at all. At all. My first thought was, “well, that was a big waste of expensive European butter, four cups of flour, wah, wah, wah.” 

But I really didn’t want to toss the whole thing out, so I preheated the oven to 250 degrees, turned it off, shoved the covered bowl in, and waited. I figured I had nothing to lose at this point. In about an hour, the dough had magically doubled in size. I was thrilled! Maybe this wasn’t going to be a wasted effort after all. 

after the oven-rise

Again, I went back to the directions: rolled out the dough to the stated dimensions, cut the strips, rolled in sugar, and baked them. 

ready for the oven

Twelve minutes later, I had the saddest looking cookies on my baking trays. But, I thought, even if they don’t look great, if they taste good, I’ll be happy. Let me cut right to the chase here and not keep you in suspense (although I'm sure you've guessed the outcome): they were terrible! Heavy, dense, tasteless. I was so disappointed!I threw them all out.

finished cookies

So what did I learn from this? I rediscovered how much I LOVE working with yeast dough! The last yeasty-type recipe I made (a few years ago) was the fabulous brioche from Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery in Boston. The smell as I worked the dough was intoxicating. And kneading it put me in an almost zen-like state. There is  definitely something to be said for how baking can be relaxing and reduce stress. 

I’m not sure why my torcetti did not come out as they should (I don't think it was the recipe); perhaps the yeast was old (even though the expiration date was months away), maybe I overworked the dough? Who knows? Will I attempt them again? Definitely. 

sad cookies

I know a lot of people may not feel that baking is relaxing, but if you focus on the physical activity of rolling or kneading the dough, enjoy the smell of the yeast or the spices in your recipe, you’ll most likely forget about what else is going on in other parts of your life - the daily stresses - at least for awhile. Making these torcetti reminded me of the pleasures of baking. 

Have you had a baking fail that you’ve learned from? Leave a comment below.

Flour-free Maple Walnut Biscotti

I meant to get this recipe out to all of you much sooner than now, but as the French say, c'est la vie!

I made these delicious cookies for Passover and they were a perfect accompaniment to the more traditional Freda's sponge cake.

The biscotti are just the ticket with a morning espresso or a before-bed snack. I love that these biscotti are a little heavier than other recipes. When you hold it in your hand, you think, "now THIS is a cookie." A sturdy, New Jersey kind of cookie. The kind that'll stand up to an occasional coffee or milk dunking.

From a posting on Food52, by way of Andrew Carmellini's Urban Italian cookbook, these cookies are all about flavor. Generous additions of maple syrup and brown sugar provide a little sweetness to the dough, while a mixture of chopped walnuts, cinnamon, adds crunch & texture to the biscotti tops.

Vivian Henoch, the Food52 author, wrote that the original recipe called for lemon zest and pistachios, which also sounds divine, but a little more dainty. Either way, get a load of these beauties next time you've got a hearty cookie craving.

Print, bake, eat!