First, the texture. These crescent-shaped darlings came closest to the crisp-outside, soft-inside of the almond cookies I've been craving. The difference with these is their distinct orange flavor, from chopped, candied orange peel, and the cup of white cornmeal that adds a gritty crunch to each bite.
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| Cornetti, dusted with powdered sugar. |
These firm, hearty cookies, with a ground almond base, are my first real almond cookie success. They are not the same as any cookie I tasted in Italy; I have yet to duplicate those bakery cookies. These stand on their own, apart from the rest, and they are every bit as good.
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After one minute in boiling water, almonds are ready to
have skins removed. |
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| Blanching almonds. |
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| Orange peels simmering in sugar syrup. |
The bad news is the labor required, especially if you begin with almonds that have their skins. Although an easy process of blanching in hot water allows the skins to be removed for an all-white dough, by the time I was done, I was ready to spring for the already-blanched almonds in the package. Never mind the almonds I squeezed too quickly from their skins only to find them squirted across the kitchen counter onto the floor.
A second unfortunate delay to making these cookies is the requirement of candied orange peels. My well-stocked grocery store said they were a seasonal item. Market Spice, a specialty shop in Pike Place Market, which carries every kind of exotic tea and spice, had none, and couldn't imagine where to send me. I would have to make my own.
Candied orange peel: Gourmet gave one recipe, but I wanted a second opinion. A short search online turned up several highly rated recipes. I bought oranges, sliced off their skins (zest and pulp together) in quarters and made 1/4-inch strips from them. I set up two pots of water to boil and plunged the strips into the first pot for 10 minutes, then the second one another ten minutes. These baths leach the sour taste from the pith. Meanwhile, I made a sugar syrup in the first saucepan (2 cups sugar to 1 1/4 cups water), and sent the peels simmering in the syrup for 20-30 minutes. They emerged as glistening orange jewels. Sticky, dripping jewels.
This amount of syrup will process about 8 oranges, but I found it easier to work with 4 at a time.
Once candied, the
Gourmet recipe has the peels drying out at room temperature overnight. I looked for online alternatives. Some warned about the resulting sticky mess if the peels dry on a cookie rack on the kitchen counter. Others used an oven on its lowest setting. A light went off.
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Firm dough with chopped almonds
and orange peels. |
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Dough in long rolls refrigerate
overnight to form a dry exterior. |
Two years ago, when we had a real summer, I wanted to dry my tomatoes for use throughout the winter. I researched some dehydrators and bought one that sits in my sewing room the rest of the year. Voila! Another use for the dehydrator. Two hours (at 115
degrees) results in slightly tacky but pliable orange strips, easily choppable for the cookie dough.
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| Rolls slice into individual cookies. |
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| Forming the crescent shapes. |
I plan to keep extras on hand to dip into chocolate or sugar, or eat as snacks.
After processing two batches in the sugar syrup, the leftovers become a sweet orange base for a spring cocktail. Let your imagination run wild.
The aromatic dough gets rolled into logs to rest a few hours in the frig, then cut into sections and shaped into crescents (like the Brazil Nut Crescents, #15).
Baking at 7-9 minutes at 400 degrees (not the recipe's 450) is enough. Best if put on the bottom shelf of the oven.
Now that I have the candied orange peels, I can make the cookies over and over again.
The recipe is
here: they suggest a 425-degree oven.
Once candied, the Gourmet recipe has the peels drying out at room temperature overnight. I looked for online alternatives. Some warned about the resulting sticky mess if the peels dry on a cookie rack on the kitchen counter. Others used an oven on its lowest setting. A light went off.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see someone else trying to perfect the cornetti. I am in awe of the labour involved in making your own candied orange peels.
Have you tried eliminating the flou ? I think you will find them more what you remember.
I have a couple of recipes for Cornetti scrawled in my illegible handwriting both from Italian cookbooks. One of the things I have noticed in both is that there is little or no flour. One recipe calls for 2 tablespoons, the other has none. The one that has 2 T flour has you make your own almond paste first. The other has just 2 cups of ground almond,with a few bitter almonds for flavour which are incredibly hard to find.(I use a tiny drop of almond essence instead)
Here is the recipe #2
Cornetti
3 large egg whites beaten separately (if using almond extract add it here)
1 cup of fine sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
2 1/2 cups well packed cups of finely ground almonds
Unspecified amount of finely chopped candied orange peel.
Roll cookies in chopped unskinned preferably organic almonds and beat 1-2 egg whitess.
This recipe had no instructions. But I grind the almonds and sugar and salt together. Beat the egg whites with the almond essence, mix everything together and add the chopped candied orange peel last. I roll out logs but never chilled them overnight just until set.
Make each tapered crescent then dip it in beaten egg white and roll it chopped almond. Bake at 300 degrees on parchment paper until just brown about 20-20 minutes. Make sure your oven is actually 300 degrees and not hotter. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm if desired.