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Is there a type of cookie that uses only egg yolks and no other liquids or fats?


cteavin

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A long, long time ago I spent a winter in the north of Italy and the grandmother of the house I was staying in made these amazing biscotti using only egg yolks, no butter or any other liquids. I remember even then being impressed as the very dry ingredients eventually came together into a 'wet' ball.

I was thinking about that this evening and put in a food processor 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup of milk powder with two egg yolks. When it came together I added a cup of flour and after a few minutes in the FP, it formed a perfect dough I then kneaded chocolate chips and walnuts into.

The dough was delicious and the baked cookies were fantastic, so I wanted to know if this was species, genre, type of cooking and if so what they are called. I want to try more recipes.

Thank you,

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If you have a copy of, or access to, Carol Field's The Italian Baker, or in Nonna's Kitchen, you might find similar recipes in them.  Also Nick Malgeri's books are also a great resource.

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Were these cookies baked twice?

My South German grandmother made her spritz cookies with only egg yolks- no other liquid. I believe, much like pie crust, she refrigerated the dough for a bit to help it form a more solid mass.

Edited by scott123 (log)
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The biscotti del prato, or cantucci, are baked twice, as (I think) are most biscotti!

 

1 hour ago, JeanneCake said:

Also Nick Malgeri's books are also a great resource.

 

My pastry and baking teacher was NIck, back at the old Peter Kump's NYC Cooking School.

 

 

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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4 hours ago, scott123 said:

Were these cookies baked twice?

 

 

In Italy, they definitly were. The ones I made yesterday, I did not. I rolled it into a log, sliced it, baked for ten minutes and ate half when they cooled (they were so good). I had few with my morning coffee this morning (as good as last night). I'm letting the rest sit out to see how easily they dry out. I'm getting the sense that the fat in the yolk is keeping them moist. 

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16 hours ago, weinoo said:

The biscotti del prato, or cantucci, are baked twice, as (I think) are most biscotti!

 

Biscotti just means cookies, so in Italy most biscotti are baked once :P But the English usage usually indeed mean the twice baked kind. Like mandelbrot. 

~ Shai N.

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20 minutes ago, shain said:

 

Biscotti just means cookies, so in Italy most biscotti are baked once :P But the English usage usually indeed mean the twice baked kind. Like mandelbrot. 

 

Just trying to back up the stuff I mention with a bit of the factual reason...

 

IMG_4291.thumb.jpeg.d8be39c4fd8f41438977a6e8a4fbf09b.jpeg

 

IMG_4292.thumb.jpeg.d174a1421f4dfc0565d7ca2e674fcb97.jpeg

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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1 minute ago, weinoo said:

 

Just trying to back up the stuff I mention with a bit of the factual reason...

 

IMG_4291.thumb.jpeg.d8be39c4fd8f41438977a6e8a4fbf09b.jpeg

 

IMG_4292.thumb.jpeg.d174a1421f4dfc0565d7ca2e674fcb97.jpeg

 

Nice :) Makes quite a bit of sense too.

Wikipedia suggests that the common term in Italian for the specific type of cookie is "cantuccini", "biscotti di Prato".

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~ Shai N.

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