'Nzuddi

Hard almond biscuits with orange zest, baked until the outside cracks and the middle stays chewy.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 250 g whole blanched almonds
• 200 g caster sugar
• 2 egg whites
• the zest of 1 orange, finely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 20 whole blanched almonds, for the tops

Method

1. Toast the 250 g of almonds in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes, shaking them, until they smell nutty and have coloured in patches. Let them cool completely before going near the grinder — warm almonds turn to paste.
2. Grind them with half the sugar until they are the texture of coarse sand. The sugar stops the almonds releasing their oil and seizing, which is the whole reason it goes in now rather than later.
3. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then whisk in the rest of the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue holds a line.
4. Fold the ground almonds, orange zest and cinnamon through the meringue. It will go from airy to a stiff paste; that is right.
5. Roll walnut-sized pieces, flatten them slightly on a lined tray, and press one whole almond into each.
6. Leave them uncovered at room temperature for 2 hours. The surface dries to a skin, and that skin is what cracks in the oven and gives these their look.
7. Bake at 170C for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cracks have gone pale gold. They firm up as they cool, so take them out while the middles still feel soft.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes