hazelnut

Cookies whose name means “Good, but ugly”. Classic Italian cookies that are essentially Swiss meringue mixed with toasted hazelnuts.
The cookies originate from the Prato region, but they are also effective in other parts of Italy. The history of these cookies dates back to the middle of the 19th century. I think these cookies deserve their name.

Preparation time: 1.5 hours including baking
Level: Easy
Quantity: About 60 cookies

Ingredients:
6 egg whites
400 g toasted and coarsely crushed hazelnuts
300 g of sugar

Preparation:

1. Separate the egg whites from the yolks, add sugar, and whip lightly with a hand whisk.
2. On medium heat, cook the egg and sugar mixture until it is hot to the touch. Under no circumstances should it be heated to boiling, then you will get a sweet and white scrambled egg. It is safe to do it in a water bath, but you can also do it on the stove if you constantly stir quickly. It takes about 5-6 minutes.
3. Pour the egg and sugar mixture into a mixing bowl and mix until sharp peaks form and until the meringue is strong and shiny
4. Crush the roasted hazelnuts semi-coarsely and mix them into the meringue.
5. Use a teaspoon to place heaps of about 3 cm on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, leaving a little space between the cookies.
6. Bake in a fan oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes until the meringue is light brown. It is quite soft to the touch. Let the meringues set collect the cookies and store them in an airtight container. When taken out of the oven, the meringue is quite soft, but quickly becomes solid and crunchy.
   Ready!!

The cookies called “Lady’s Kisses” come from Northern Italy, the Piedmont region. Cookies developed sometime in the 19th century, in their classic form contain hazelnuts that grow naturally in Northern Italy. Recipes for cookies made from different nuts can be found everywhere. Today, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts are also used in the preparation of these cookies, they are also made with cocoa, as brown cookies. These are layered cookies with chocolate cream between the two sides of the cookies.

Preparation time: Preparation of the dough 15 minutes. Keeping the dough in the cold for at least 1 hour, baking for about 1 hour, preparing the filling for 15 minutes, and assembling the cookies for about 30 minutes.
Level: Not too complicated
Quantity: About 60 layer cookies

Ingredients:
Cookies:
300 g room temperature butter
300 g of sugar
300 g of wheat flour
300 g of roasted and ground hazelnuts
2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar

Cream:
200 g of dark chocolate
1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
50 ml of whipped cream

Preparation:

1. Buy shelled and roasted hazelnuts at the store, or if they are not available, roast the nuts in a frying oven or dry pan over medium heat until they are slightly brown. It takes about 15 minutes.
2. Grind the nuts into fine flour in a food processor and use it as an addition to the dough.
3. Mix flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Add the ground hazelnuts and mix to a smooth dough.
4. Be sure to raise the dough to +4 degrees C for at least one hour, better if longer, because then the cookies will not spread too much during baking.
5. Shape the cold dough into balls with a diameter of about 1.5 cm between your hands and place them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Process the dough in batches, keeping most of the dough at +4 degrees C.
6. Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes until the cookies become light golden brown.
7. Transfer to a cookie rack or plate to cool.
8. Prepare the cream by melting dark chocolate in whipped cream over low heat, add vanilla sugar, and mix until smooth.
9. When the cookies have cooled, take one cookie, spread a small amount of chocolate cream under the bottom of the cookie with a knife, and gently press the other half of the cookie against the filling.
10. Place the layered cookies on a plate and place them in the refrigerator until the filling hardens.
11. Store in a cooler place and in an airtight jar.
    Ready!!