Ugly But Good Cookies Recipes

UGLY-BUT-GOOD HAZELNUT COOKIES (BRUTTI MA BUONI)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Roast hazelnuts on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool briefly, then rub off skins with a clean kitchen towel. Coarsely chop hazelnuts.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy, about 4 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add sugar. Beat until meringue is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt.
• Scrape meringue into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add chopped hazelnuts. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pan to make sure meringue does not burn, until mixture is light brown and pulls away from sides of pan, about 15 minutes. (Mixture will look curdled after first 5 minutes of cooking.)
• Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature. Fold in chocolate.
• Scoop mounds, about 2 tablespoons each, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
• Bake until cookies are crisp on outside but soft and chewy inside, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

UGLY BUT GOOD COOKIES

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts in the oven at 356 degrees F (180 degrees C). Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until the skins are mostly split and the nuts are light golden brown and fragrant (about 15 minutes).
• Remove from the oven and rub the hazelnuts until the loose skins come off.
• Let them cool completely and pulse in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg white and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold in the sugar and nuts.
• Spoon the batter on the baking sheet with a teaspoon or a tablespoon (it depends on how big you want your cookies) about 1.5 inches (4 cm) apart.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
• Store the ugly but good cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

UGLY BUT GOOD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Place almonds on baking sheet, and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring after 5 minutes of baking. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine toasted almonds and sugar in food processor fitted with metal blade, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Place mixture in large bowl.
• Whisk egg whites with salt in separate bowl until stiff. Gently fold into almond mixture, adding vanilla and mini chips.
• Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper, leaving at least 1 inch between mounds.
• Use reverse side of parchment paper for next batch, and new paper for successive batches.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, and set aside for 2 minutes. Using a spatula, remove cookies to wire rack to cool.

"UGLY BUT GOOD" HAZELNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• 2. Whip the egg whites and salt in an electric mixer with the whisk on medium speed until they are white and opaque and beginning to hold their shape. Increase the speed to medium high and whip in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continuing to whip the whites until they hold a firm peak. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the ground hazelnuts.
• 3. Scrape the batter into a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is heated through, about 8 minutes.
• 4. Use 2 spoons to form 3/4-inch cookies. Use one spoon to scoop up some batter and the other to scrape it off the first spoon, rounding it somewhat as you do, and drop the cookies onto the prepared pan, spacing them about 1 inch apart from each other in all directions.
• 5. Bake the cookies until they are well colored and slightly firm, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• 6. Cool the cookies on the pan on a rack.
• Storage: Store the cookies in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.