Many Beautiful Things by Polizzi Generosa

Author:Polizzi Generosa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Published: 2002-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Ramuzzi Duci Sweet Little Branches

The filling in these “branches” is made of finely chopped hazelnuts mixed with semolina and honey, certainly deriving from some ancient North African source. The dough is pasta frolla, a less rich version than the one used for a crust, as in the recipe for Almond Torte. This dough must rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours before the cookies are formed, to ensure workability.

These cookies taste great dunked in morning coffee, or on their own.

For 12 large cookies

For the dough

31/3 cups cake flour, plus additional as needed

¼ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of baking powder

1 cup sugar

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon sweet Marsala

For the filling

4 ounces shelled whole raw hazelnuts (filberts)

½ cup semolina (pasta flour)

½ cup honey

Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, sift together the 31/3 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle on low speed, or by hand, cut or rub in the butter until the flour has the consistency of cornmeal, about 2 minutes. Lightly beat the eggs and yolk in a small bowl, and quickly work them into the mixture with the mixer or a spatula. Add the Marsala to form a soft dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it just enough to form a very soft dough with a slightly sticky surface. Depending on climatic conditions, it might be necessary to add sprinklings of flour for the dough to come together. Remember that overkneading pastry dough will make it tough. Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest, refrigerated, for 3 hours.

Prepare the filling: Preheat the oven to 400°F, with a rack positioned in the center.

Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take care that they do not burn. Remove the nuts from the oven, wrap them in a dishcloth, and let them steam for a couple of minutes. Then rub them together to remove as much of the brown skin as possible. Using a food processor, finely grind the nuts to the same consistency as the semolina. Mix the nuts and semolina together in a bowl.

Pour the honey into a small saucepan. Heat it over low heat until it just begins to come to a boil, about 3 minutes. Mix the thinned honey well into the semolina mixture to form a smooth paste with the consistency of brown sugar. Cover the bowl loosely with waxed paper, and let the paste rest at room temperature until needed.

Form the cookies and bake: Preheat the oven to 375°F, with a rack positioned in the upper third.

Flour a work surface. Be sure that it remains lightly but well floured throughout this step by adding pinches of flour as needed.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and divide it in half. Re-cover one half and return it to the refrigerator.

Roll the dough with your hand against the work surface to form a rope 24 inches long and about 1¼ inches in diameter.

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