Piparelli Food

PIPARELLI RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C/375F and line baking tray with paper.
• Using a stand mixer or by hand, beat butter with brown sugar and honey. Add one egg white and mix well.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Stir into butter mixture until combined and no longer sticky. Mix in orange peel and almonds.
• Turn onto floured surface. Knead briefly and lightly.
• Divide dough into 3 even portion. Form into logs about 20cm/8in long and 2.5cm/1in thick. Place on line baking tray allowing room to spread a little. Beat remaining egg white a little then use it to brush the tops of the logs.
• Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes or until firm to touch.
• Remove from oven and cool to 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160C/325F.
• Slice as thinly as you can (about 3mm/1/8in) and lay on baking sheets.
• Return to oven for 15-20 minutes to dry out. They will crisp as they cool so don't overbake them.
• Cool on wire rack.

CRUNCHY SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• 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 1 of the egg whites and mix until evenly blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices 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 3 pieces and form each piece into a log that is 8 inches long by 2 inches thick. 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 1/4 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.