Amaretti Cookies

When I was a little kid, my dad would go to Domino's bakery every Saturday morning. It was a small Italian pastry shop near my house, and every trip was the highlight of my week. Even the dog loved the trip in the car. Every Saturday, Joe Dad would put on his blue jeans and she would go wild, leaping in circles, and tackling my sister and I until we made our way out to the car.
My sister, Andrea, would always get either a chocolate eclair or a cream napoleon, my mom always got a Danish (I still don't understand this) and my dad and I would mix up our orders every week. I always gravitated toward the petits fours, with either a mini cheesecake, carrot cake, almond cream puff, or cannoli--the only thing more appealing than mini cakes. My dad seemed to get a different thing each time, though if there were almond croissants, he'd get at least one.
He always got a box of amaretti.

Well, he almost always got a box of amaretti. Each time we'd visit, he would ask the little old lady behind the counter whether the cookies were crisp or chewy, and would only buy them if they were chewy (lucky for us, the pastry chef who preferred chewy usually had the morning shift on Saturday)
These cookies are still my dad's favorite and though he has a new favorite bakery, every time he goes, he still picks up a box of amaretti and I get to relive those great Saturday mornings filled with delicious cookies, almond scented pastry cream, and adorable petits fours with my family.
I decided to leave each member of my family with a little gift of food when I leave for school, and thought these would be perfect for Dad. My mom's getting pretzel rolls, and Andrea's getting meringue cupcakes, but of the 3, these are my favorite, and the most sentimental.

I've tried several recipes and though they always come out tasting great (except the one batch that was crunchy shudders) I have never ben able to perfectly recreate the cookies from the bakery. This batch comes closest as it's pretty dense and has a stronger almond flavor from the almond extract. In all honesty, most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between these and the cookies from my childhood, but I've had plenty of experience with amaretti, and the memory of the flavor of these cookies stands out in my mind because it's surrounded with so many other great memories.

Soft Amaretti Cookies
(Gluten Free)
Makes about 20 cookies

7 oz crumbled almond paste
1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs honey
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
In a stand mixer, beat the almond paste on high speed, until thoroughly broken up, somewhere between crumbs and a spreadable paste. Slowly add the powdered sugar, continuing to stir on low speed.
Add the egg white, extract, honey and salt and beat on medium, until thick and well mixed. This should take about 5 minutes.
Put the dough in a pastry bag with a plain tip and pipe 1 inch circles onto the cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp on the outside but still soft and slightly gummy on the inside.

Classic Hummus with No Added Oil

Hey all! So, if you've been following me on twitter you probable have figured out that the reason I haven't posted in FOREVER is because I was on vacation. Now, I'm on a diet. I will get back to posting sweet and savory recipes this week (2 per week, promise) starting.....NOW! Here's a healthy hummus recipe for you all.

Classic Hummus with No Added Oil:
3 cups warm chickpeas
1/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbs tahini
3 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a smooth (or chunky, if you prefer) paste forms. If you need to thin it out, or are making this in a blender add up to 1/2 cup of slightly warm water.

Quick Dark Chocolate Marzipan

Sometimes, you need to make something really quick, but you still need it to be really good and special. This is where marzipan comes in. I have shared a recipe for a long form marzipan before, but I'm currently in the process of stocking up on hand made food gifts for the seemingly endless number of graduation parties I have this summer, so I don't have the time or patience to be grinding almonds and cooking egg whites to perfection.

This is not a very sweet marzipan, and it leans on the side of stickiness, but that's how I like mine, all almond flavor with a sharp contrast between the texture of the chocolate filling and the marzipan casing.

You can make these with any type of chocolate filling, but I like a dark chocolate with a fairly low percentage of cocoa solids. I generally go with about 60% cocoa. This may seem a little strange, but it's meant to balance out the pure nuttiness of the marzipan. Think of it this way, if you need a bitter chocolate, your marzipan is too sweet.

(I know, I need to get some more plates for photos)

Quick Marzipan with Dark Chocolate
Makes 30 filed marzipan cups

8 oz Almond paste (not marzipan)
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
3.5 oz dark chocolate

In break the almond paste into peces a bowl. With a hand mixer, beat the almond paste until smooth. Add the corn syrup and and almond extract continue beating until it forms a smooth dough. If the mix is too dry, add a teaspoon of corn syrup. You want a slightly sticky dough, so if the dough is too wet, add a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Form into small balls and make a dip in the center of each with your finger tip, to make a small bowl shape.
Melt and temper the chocolate. Use a small spoon or squeeze bottle to fill the marzipan bowls to the top with chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate is completely set and the marzipan is dry, about 2 to three hours or over night. Package, share, enjoy!

Fresh Pea Pesto and Ditalini

People don't eat enough ditalini. I think people think of it as a sort of kid's pasta, and it really is entertaining, but everybody deserves some dinnertime entertainment, not just little kids. Sticking with the theme of little kid pasta, there's the pea.  I'm pretty sure every kid in America had a childhood filled with buttered noodles with peas mixed in. Except, it's hard to mix a pea with pasta, so it ended up being a plate of buttered noodles with a bunch of peas sitting on the bottom. While this dish was in no way my inspiration for pursuing fine food, it did inspire on fine pasta dish.

Pesto is probably the most versatile sauce/dressing/spread/dip in the entire world. You can make it with any number of herbs, veggies, oils and seasonings. Fresh pea pesto has to be one of my all time favorites though. It's bright green color, nutty undertones, and occasional bursts of garlic against the sweetness of the pas really makes this stand out. And, this entire dish was ready in less time than it takes to unload the dishwasher and set the table!

Ditalini with Fresh Pea Pesto
Serves 4

6 oz ditalini pasta
2 cups fresh peas (you can use thawed frozen, just don't blanch them)
1/3 cup whole almonds, toasted in a dry pan for 5 minuted over medium heat
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Reggiano Parmigiano


Bring a 4 quart pot of salted water to a boil. Quickly blanch peas in the water for 2 minutes, remove, and shock in an ice water bath. When the water is boiled, add pasta to water and stir occasionally, cooking for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove 1 cup of pasta water from the pot before draining pasta.
While the pasta is boiling, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium-low heat, to infuse the oil with the garlic. After infusing the oil for 10 to fifteen minutes, remove from the heat.
Put the almonds, basil, peas, garlic and oil in a blender and blend until almost smooth. Add pasta water as needed to thin to desired consistency.
When the pesto is smooth, mix in the cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over the drained pasta and serve.

Even Buddy Likes It!

He actually loved it, and licked the empty bowl clean:)