Rosalia's Bittersweet Pastry Shop (42 page)

 

Yield: approximately 4 dozen cookies

 

In my second novel,
Carissima
, I also included a recipe for
Biscotti all'Anice
. They are such a popular Sicilian biscotti that I decided to have another recipe for them in this book. The recipe below is slightly different from the one in
Carissima
, and it gives the option of baking the cookies for a softer texture or for a firmer biscotti texture. Either way, they're absolutely delicious!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three large baking sheets with butter.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Add the olive oil, anise flavor, and eggs. Mix into a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide in four parts. Roll each part into a 12-inch rope, and cut into twelve pieces. Roll each piece between your hands and shape into a crescent. Place cookies an inch apart on greased cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

 

Shape the dough into two 14-inch logs. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cut baked logs into half-inch slices. Place the slices cut side down on baking sheet and put back in the oven to toast for 10 minutes.

Adapted from
Sicilian Feasts,
by Giovanna Bellia La Marca (Hippocrene Books)

 

Yield: approximately 6 to 8 servings

 

My mother also makes a version of this recipe (she chooses to make it without the Marsala) and would make it every year for Carnevale, which is when Sicilians usually make
Chiacchiere.
They're quite addictive!

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg and wine to blend. Pour into the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together in a ball.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out.

Divide the chilled dough into four pieces. Keep the unused portion covered while you work. Roll a piece of the dough very, very thin, dusting the work surface with a tiny bit of flour if it sticks. You should be able to read a newspaper through the dough. Do the best you can while bearing in mind that the thinner the dough, the crispier and more delicate the
Chiacchiere
will be.

Cut the dough into 2-by-4-inch strips using a fluted pastry wheel or a pizza-cutting wheel.

In a large, deep, heavy saucepan, heat 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees using a deep-fry or candy thermometer. Fry the
Chiacchiere
, a few at a time, turning once, until nicely browned, about 45 seconds per side. Drain the cookies on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar.

Note:
The recipe from
Sweet Sicily
calls for lard or vegetable shortening, but I chose to list butter in the ingredients above since many people in the U.S. prefer baking with butter to using lard or vegetable shortening. However, if you wish to use lard or vegetable shortening, you can use the same measurement as is listed above for the butter.

 

Adapted from
Sweet Sicily: The Story of an Island and Her Pastries,
by Victoria Granof (William Morrow Cookbooks)

 

Yield: approximately 2 dozen

My father's name was Giuseppe (Joseph), and my mother always made
zeppole
every year for his namesake day, which is on March 19.
Zeppole
are my weakness, and every time I attend a street fair, I buy half a dozen
zeppole
and eat all of them before I leave!

In a small saucepan, heat the milk to body temperature (it should feel neither hot nor cold when tested with a clean finger). Remove from the heat, add the yeast and sugar, and let sit for 5 minutes, or until the yeast begins to foam. Add the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir vigorously until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it with gusto for about 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and satiny. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.

When the dough has risen, heat 2 inches of oil in a large, heavy saucepan to 350 degrees on a deep-fry or candy thermometer. Grab a handful of dough and squeeze it gently so some of it pops out the side of your fist between your thumb and forefinger. When you have a piece the size of a walnut, squeeze your thumb and forefinger together to release the ball of dough into the hot oil.

Fry the zeppole, a few at a time, for about 1½ minutes on each side, or until browned on both sides, then transfer them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Dust with powdered sugar or sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Note:
I choose to make these without the cinnamon since my husband prefers them this way.

Adapted from
Sweet Sicily: The Story of an Island and Her Pastries,
by Victoria Granof (William Morrow Cookbooks)

 

Yield: approximately 3 dozen cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter or margarine and sugar until blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then add the milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt and continue to mix until smooth. Stir in the flour, a little at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball. If the dough is too dry, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. If the dough is too wet, add more flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a minute or two.

Pinch off a tablespoonful of dough at a time and roll out, under your palms, on a floured work surface to form a 4-inch-long rope. Bring the ends around to form a circle and cross them over each other, pressing ever so lightly, just to seal.

Place the cookies two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until barely golden. Do not overbake or they will become crunchy, which is good for some cookies, but not these. Cool on a rack.

Adapted from
Sweet Sicily: The Story of an Island and Her Pastries,
by Victoria Granof (William Morrow Cookbooks)

 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

 

 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a tube pan with a removable bottom.

Cream butter and sugar in electric mixer until pale yellow. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest, vanilla, and milk. Beat until well blended.

Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake is a deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

While cake is still warm, poke holes throughout it with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Pour about a cup of the lemon syrup over the cake. Serve at room temperature, with more lemon syrup drizzled over each slice.

Note:
You can also make this cake without the lemon syrup.

This is a family recipe.

 

Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the brown sugar and honey. Add one of the egg whites and mix until evenly blended. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together into another bowl and add the butter mixture, stirring until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the orange peel and almonds until evenly dispersed. Divide the dough into three pieces and form each piece into a log that is 8 inches long by 2 inches wide. Place the logs 3 inches apart on the greased baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg white lightly and brush the tops of the logs with it.

Bake the logs for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Slice the logs ¼ inch thick and lay the cookies on the baking sheet. Return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes to dry them out. The cookies will become crisp as they cool, so don't overbake them. Cool on a rack.

Note:
Although the recipe in
Sweet Sicily
calls for black pepper, I choose to make these without it since I'm a bit finicky when it comes to black pepper.

 

Wash the oranges and cut each one into six wedges. Scrape away the pulp (reserve it for another use), leaving the peel with the white membrane attached, and place the peel into a nonreactive saucepan.

Cover the orange peel with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then drain off the water. Cover again with cold water, bring to a boil, and drain; repeat the process two more times. This is the only way to remove the bitterness from the peel; you'll be glad you went to the trouble.

Remove the peel from the saucepan and add the sugar, water, and corn syrup to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, add the peel, turn the heat down to medium, and boil for 20 to 25 minutes, or until most of the syrup is absorbed and the peel is glossy.

Place a cooling rack over a baking sheet to catch drips, and transfer the wedges of candied peel to the rack. Let cool and dry for 2 to 3 hours, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to six months.

Note:
To cut down on the prep time, the candied orange peel can be made ahead of time. It's worth making your own since it tastes far superior to store-bought candied orange peel.

Adapted from
Sweet Sicily: The Story of an Island and Her Pastries,
by Victoria Granof (William Morrow Cookbooks)