Sweet Taralle
Let’s talk about “taralle”
Auntie Jo, Philomena, Aunt Dolly early 1990s
What’s a Taralle !? In our family we called these large ring shaped biscuits taralle. They can be sweet ( my favorite) or savory. The sweet has a a nice drizzle of lemon confectioners icing, and the savory is spiked with a hefty dose of black pepper and salt.
Many other American-Italian families I know call smaller ring shaped biscuits, mostly savory, taralli. There is also the slang reference, which can be fun…”be nice or I’ll give you a taralle”. This usually means a little tap on the head.
One day, sometime in the 90s, I hosted a fantastic taralle making session at the bakery. I think this was around the same time I was working on Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray Cookbook. I wanted to include the sweet version of what we call “taralle” in the cookbook. Although not technically a “cookie” these ring shaped biscuits were constantly served at all our basement parties and holidays. This original recipe is probably Philomena’s so she was happy to show me, my aunts and my Mom how to make them.
If I knew I was going to write a few more cookbooks, I probably would have saved this recipe for another. With my first cookbook I wanted to include everything and everyone and that had shaped my adult life.
These biscuits are nothing special, very simple with a drizzle of lemon confectioners icing. They are boiled first, then baked. If you like a dry biscuit, very suitable for dunking, either in some marsala or espresso, this is the perfect snack for you.
Original headnote from Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray, page 97
These are a sweet version of the large ring-shaped biscuits. They looked so impressive when I was a child, all drenched in icing and piled high like a pyramid!
When I was growing up, our family lived in houses next to each other, with one large common backyard. I’ll always remember Gemma carrying huge piles of sweet taralle from house to house. And she never dropped one!
Recipe Renovation: There isn’t much on the renovation, this recipe is pretty straightforward . I did add some lemon oil to the dough for more lemon flavor in addition to the icing. It’s just nice to share it again and think about making taralle with these lovely ladies. I did try to make them smaller, more individual portioned but they are really much better in this larger size, and fun to break and share!
SWEET TARALLI
TARALLI DOLCI
Makes 8
6 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
3- 31/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, oil, sugar and lemon oil until well blended. Stir in 3 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead to make a soft dough. If dough is too sticky, add additional flour.
Divide dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each into a cylinder about 1-inch thick and 8-inches long. Form into a ring, pressing the dough together firmly to attach.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Drop the taralle into the boiling water, 2 or 3 at a time. When they float to the top, turn over and boil uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water and drain on paper towels.
Place each taralle directly on the oven shelf ( or a cookie sheet). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, drizzle with lemon confectioners icing.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
CONFECTIONERS ICING
6 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
With an electric mixer, beat all ingredients until smooth. For thicker icing, add more sugar, for thinner icing, add more water.
Sweet Taralle
Oatmeal Crunchies
Crunchy oatmeal cookies? Yes please!
Oatmeal Crunchies from Sweet Maria’s Cookie Jar Cookbook
Original headnote from Sweet Maria’s Cookie Jar: page 17
The finely chopped walnuts in this crunchy cookie make this an ideal treat. It’s one of the first cookies I learned to bake.
Recipe Renovation
Crispy cookies definitely have their own fans, but most times, people prefer chewy cookies. I do love a chewy oatmeal raisin but that’s a recipe for another time.
These crunchies definitely live up to their name. Fresh, finely chopped walnuts, additional sugar on top and baking until light golden all add to their crispness.
The original recipe was a bit too flat for me, and needed a bit more “chew”. It was easy to revise. I just reduced the baking soda in half.
Also, this recipe yields double the amount of the original recipe. It’s so hard to cream just a 1/4 pound ( 1 stick!) of butter with the sugars. Plus a larger cookie ( I used a small ice cream scoop instead of a teaspoon) and a higher yield is always a good idea!
OATMEAL CRUNCHIES
MAKES 40 COOKIES
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Additional sugar for dipping the tops
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and walnuts. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer ( or with a hand mixer) cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light. Add vanilla.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after adding each one.
Gradually add flour mixture and mix just until blended.
Using a small ice cream scooper portion dough. Roll tops into additional sugar. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, spacing each 3-inches apart. The cookies will spread.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
Remove cookie sheet from the oven. Cool on wire cooling rack.
Store cookies in a cookie tin. Plastic bags or an airtight container will make the cookies soft.
Oatmeal Crunchies Original Recipe
Pepper Biscuits
Savory snacks always in season.
Pepper Biscuits from Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray
Original headnote from Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray (1992), page 100.
These black pepper biscuits are part of every Italian baker’s recipe box. To be sure they’re crunchy, brush them with oil just before baking.
Recipe Renovation
These are one of my favorite non-sweet snacks. Perfect for pre-meal snacking and as part of a salumi, olive and cheese plate. So many people call these biscuits by different names: frizzelle , tarralle , tarralucci…..they are crispy biscuits with a pop of fennel.
This variation from my original family recipe uses white wine and extra virgin olive oil. Be sure to roll into thin strips and bake until golden to capture the crunch.
PEPPER BISCUITS
MAKES ABOUT 60
3 eggs
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil ( plus additional for brushing the tops)
1 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fennel seed
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a small bowl combine 3 cups of flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, wine, olive oil, salt and pepper until well blended. Add half the flour mixture and fennel seeds and whisk until blended. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture with a wooden spoon.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in any additional flour to make a soft, not-sticky dough. Let dough rest on countertop, covered for 15 minutes.
Roll dough into thin pencil size pieces, about 6 inches long. Form into rings, pressing to adhere ends together.
Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Using a pastry brush, brush tops of rings with additional olive oil.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool on parchment. Store biscuits at room temperature in a paper bag or cookie tin.
Brutti ma Buoni (ugly but good) cookies
Are these cookies truly ugly? Not to me!
“brutti ma buoni” cookies and small, sweet and italian cookbook
Original Headnote from Small, Sweet and Italian , ( 2013) page 113. My friend Sally shared this family recipe years ago and it continues to be one of my favorites. It’s best mixed old style with a wooden spoon. She also shared these tips: “be sure not to chop the nuts too much, just a few pulses. The large chunky hazelnuts give these cookies their character. Add egg whites as needed. If the dough is too wet, the cookies will spread too much. Don’t overbake and cool them on parchment paper.”
Recipe Renovation: These chunky hazelnut cookies really should have been included in my first cookbook. They are so tasty! The crispy version is often found in Italian bakeries. I never had a recipe for these cookies and never pursued one, as the first cookbook was meant to capture American-Italian home baked, family recipes. Years later, my great friend Sally Maraventano shared her recipe for these cookies and they have been my obsession ever since. I included this recipe in my last baking book, “Small Sweet and Italian “ which may have been a miss. These cookies are best big and chunky, not small and petite.
Roasting the nuts brings out more flavor and some of the skins add more texture. The video will give you a better idea of how wet the cookie dough should be!
BRUTTI MA BUONI COOKIES (GF)
MAKES ABOUT 16
2 cups whole hazelnuts with skin ( about 9 ounces)
11/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 to 2 egg whites
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Spread hazelnuts onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Roast for 10 minutes.
Remove the nuts from the oven and place in a clean kitchen towel. Let steam in the towel for 3 to 5 minutes. Roll the towel back and forth to release some of the skins from the hazelnuts. Discard the skins. Let nuts cool.
In a food processor, pulse the nuts until coarsely chopped. Be sure to leave some large pieces.
In a medium bowl, combine chopped nuts, confectioners sugar, cocoa and cinnamon. Mix by hand until uniformly blended.
In a small bowl, beat 2 egg whites with a fork until slightly frothy.
Add half the egg whites and stir to moisten. Add more egg white, a teaspoon at time until the mixture is moist but not runny.
Using a household teaspoon, drop dough into heaping teaspoon size onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. ( you can use the same sheet and parchment form roasting the nuts)
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until firm.
Remove pan from the oven. Let cookies cool on parchment paper.
Roasting Hazelnuts for Brutti ma Buoni cookies
Half Moon Cookies “mezzaluna”
Baking my Dad’s favorite cookie
Half Moon Cookie “mezzaluna”
Original headnote from Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray Cookbook ( 1992) page 30
This is my own variation of my father’s favorite cookie. It’s a basic butter cookie shaped with a half moon cookie cutter and brushed with a beaten egg. For years we bought them at Ortone’s bakery, a popular local bakery operated by family friends. The had a great business during World War II, shipping these cookies overseas to homesick troops. I’ve developed my own version and Dad likes them just fine.
Recipe Renovation: These cookies are one of my favorites, too, simple and classic. My Dad did like this version I created but nothing can quite compare to his food memory of this cookie, the legendary Ortone bakery and the bustling Waterbury community it served.
This version adds orange oil instead of orange juice for a unique flavor. Also added a bit of salt.
HALF MOON COOKIES ‘MEZZALUNA”
MAKES 30 COOKIES
1/2 pound butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon orange oil
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
In the bowl of a stand mixer ( or with a hand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and confectioners sugar until light. Add extracts, oil and 1 egg. Mix until blended.
On low speed gradually add the flour and salt and mix just until incorporated.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut shapes using a 3-inch crescent shaped cookie cutter. Place cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, spacing each 2 inches apart.
In a small bowl, beat remaining egg. Brush egg onto the tops of the cookies.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookie sheet from the oven and cool cookies on a wire cooling rack. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.