Umbria
Small almond and pine nut cookies shaped to resemble dried fava beans — made throughout Umbria and central Italy for the Feast of the Dead on 1 and 2 November. The dough is made with ground almonds, flour, sugar, egg and lard, flavoured with cinnamon and lemon zest, rolled into small ovals and baked until pale golden. They are traditional offerings placed on gravestones.
Mildly sweet, almond-rich, warmly spiced with cinnamon; lard gives a crumbly, melting texture; lemon zest provides freshness — humble cookies with deep ritual meaning
{"Grind almonds to a fine but not oily powder — over-grinding releases almond oil and the dough becomes greasy","Use lard (strutto) as the fat — butter changes the flavour and texture of these traditional cookies","Rest the dough 30 minutes wrapped before shaping — the fat needs to firm and the flour to hydrate evenly","Bake at 160°C — low temperature prevents the cookies from browning (they must remain pale to resemble dried beans)","Do not overbake — they should be just set and still slightly yielding inside when removed; they firm as they cool"}
{"A pinch of anise seed in the dough is traditional in some Umbrian areas and adds a distinctive liquorice note","Store in a tin, not an airtight container — the cookies need to breathe or the texture softens","Pine nuts pressed lightly into the top of each cookie before baking are the classic Umbrian variation"}
{"Over-processing the almonds to an oily paste — the cookies become greasy and heavy","Using butter — the flavour is different and the cookies are too rich for their traditional purpose","Baking at too high a temperature, causing them to colour and lose the traditional pale appearance"}
Dolci Umbri — Feste, Tradizioni e Sapori