Quaresimali (Lenten Cookies)
3 cups whole almonds
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
4 TBSp butter
2 eggs
1 egg beaten with 1 TBSP of water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets. Spread the almonds on a cookie sheet and toast them for about 8 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl and let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Reserve 2 1/4 cups of the almonds. With a sharp knife, chop the remaining 3/4 cups of almonds fine. Transfer to a bowl, add the honey, and blend well. In a large bowl, combine all the remaining dry ingredients and mix well. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the softened butter until well blended. Add to the honey and almond mixture and mix well. Add to the dry ingredients, along with the reserved almonds, and mix with your hands until the dough is well blended. The dough will be stiff. Divide the dough in half and with floured hands, form each piece into a loaf 12 inches long by 4 inches wide. Place the loafs on the greased cookie sheets and brush the tops of each loaf with the egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Transfer the loaves to a cutting board and carefully cut each loaf on the diagonal into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Place the pieces on their sides on the cookies sheets and bake for 7 minutes on each side or until well toasted and hard. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
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