The recipe for one type of cookie, Cartellate, was passed on to my daughter from her great Italian grandmother who had the recipe from her mother, and so on. This cookie is specific to the region of Apulia, Italy. Bari is the Capital city.
Cartellate is the most unique of the three and the most time consuming, but the results are worth it. The flour is made with white wine and olive oil. The dough is rolled out, cut with a fluted pastry cutter, and shaped into rosettes or pinwheels, then fried. The pièce de résistance is cooking them in "vincotto" or a fig syrup. This is what I live for, totally addicted! lol
We also made Amaretti, shown here. These happen to be gluten-free because they are made with almond flour (we took peeled almonds and put them in a blender to make flour) as opposed to wheat flour. In our recipe, we used a dash of Grand Marnier. They are chewy, delicious, and melt in your mouth. We dotted them with candied cherries to complete the festive look.
We hope you were able to connect and spend the holidays with loved ones. The time I spend with my daughter is precious, and the best gift.
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