walnut cookies italian
Walnut biscuits are traditional small cakes from the town of Maratea, on the Mediterranean coast of Basilicata. Italian artisanal dessert par excellence, these cookies are characterized by the contrast between sugar and the slightly bitter taste of nuts. An Italian specialty to try at all costs!
Difficulty : Medium
Preparation : 15 MIN.
Cooking : 30 mins.
Ingredients for 4 persons
Noix – 360 g
Sucre – 360 g
Eggs – 7 whites
Vanillin (vanilla sugar) – 1 sachet
Salt – a pinch
Preparing the nut cookies
To start, mix the nuts. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff, with a pinch of salt. Still beating the egg whites, add the sugar (a spoonful at a time), then the walnut powder and finally the vanillin. Using a spatula, gently mix everything from top to bottom to aerate the mixture as well as possible.
Turn on the oven at 130°C. Pour the mixture into a piping bag using a spoon, and spread the baking paper on a baking dish. Place small circles of preparation about 4 cm in diameter and 3 cm in height on the baking paper. Be sure to leave a distance of at least 2-3 cm between each cookie.
Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes, then remove them from the oven and let them cool. Walnut cookies will need to dry out, while retaining their light color. As soon as the cookies begin to take on a golden color, lower the oven temperature to 100° and finish baking.
Tips
According to the original Italian recipe, these biscuits are prepared with nuts, but you can also replace them with other dried fruits (hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, etc.).