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Italian Sweets


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We are hosting a dinner (sit down) party in May with an Italian theme. We are trying to think of something like a classic Italian candy to give the guests to take home. Anybody out there--We need help.

Cooking is chemistry, baking is alchemy.

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We are hosting a dinner (sit down) party in May with an Italian theme.  We are trying to think of something like a classic Italian candy to give the guests to take home.  Anybody out there--We need help.

Torrone comes to mind. You might find it in a good Italian bakery.

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If you want to make the favor yourself, I like the cookie idea. One could go simply with some classic almond or hazelnut biscotti or look around for other Italian cookies. One Italian cookie I've been wanting to try is made of almond paste dough which is wrapped around an amarena cherry.

Besides torrone, another candy idea would be hazelnut chocolates from Ferrero Rocher and/or Jordon almonds.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Try the ricarelli cookie recipe on my site.

IMPORTANT is that it is made with ground almond flour, not ground in the cuisinart.

But in a nut grinder.. often called almond FLOUR in health food shops.

bake a trial one first as the ingredients in america are different than those in Italy.

Everyone ADORES them!

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I have some internet connection problem, so it's too painful to load pictures on egullet

This chocolate torrone is very, very easy to make

Torrone al cioccolato

200 g sugar, 50 g glucose (or light corn syrup), 200 g of honey (mild), 500 bittersweet chocolate, 400 g slightly toasted hazelnuts (peeled), 2 egg whites.

Put in a stainless steel pot the sugar, the syrup and little water (just to wet it). Bring it to 125 C. Bring the honey to the same temperature and let it cool slightly, add the whipped eggs whites, the sugar and the warm hazelnut, the melted chocolate. Bring back to a bainmarie and stir until gets pretty stiff, without schorcing the chocolate (the stiffer it gets the harder the torrone but because of chocolate remains anyway pretty tender). Pour on a rectangular "wafer", level and cover with another sheet of water, ostia in Italian. You can find it in German stores, like Schaller and Weber, look for oblaten.

Or a tray of mixed cookies: amaretti, daci di dama, zaletti, wine tarallini dipped in sugar, etc.

Edited by Franci (log)
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