The end of Carnival marks the beginning of the Lent period where once strict culinary precepts prevailed: the ‘lean regime’, meaning abstinence from meat with the complete elimination of any animal fat from recipes.
But since indulgence cannot be stopped, to not go against the Church’s dictates, a group of Nuns from the Church of San Tommaso in Genoa had the idea back in the 1500s to create delicious cookies prepared solely with almonds, egg whites, and orange flower essence, giving life to these tasty cookies, called Quaresimali, to make the Lenten fast less burdensome.
Of course, over the years, the recipe has undergone changes and especially improvements, such as wonderful colored glazes or sugar sprinkles to make them not only good but also beautiful.
Every year, especially in Genoa, they are prepared in all the pastry shops and in many households as it is a traditional recipe, and there is competition over who can decorate them the best.
The recipe I present to you today is that of my family, Quaresimali according to my grandmother’s recipe, I assure you that despite their simplicity, these pastries are truly awesome and worth trying.
The dough is easy, made simply from almonds, powdered sugar, egg whites, and orange blossom aroma that gives it that particular taste. Then you can decide whether to leave them as they are, or fill them with jam or simply glaze them with a lemon-flavored icing sugar glaze.
Let’s prepare together the recipe for Quaresimali, typical Ligurian cookies. And if you still don’t know how to compose your menu for Sunday lunch, I leave you some IDEAS for the Easter menu
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 441.81 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 66.43 (g) of which sugars 63.53 (g)
- Proteins 6.84 (g)
- Fat 16.56 (g) of which saturated 0.00 (g)of which unsaturated 0.00 (g)
- Fibers 3.11 (g)
- Sodium 7.06 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE QUARESIMALI
- 9 oz blanched almonds
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 3 tbsps apricot jam
- to taste colored sprinkles
- 2 tbsps water
Tools
- Blender
- Bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutter
- Cookie cutter
- Parchment paper
- Baking tray
HOW TO MAKE QUARESIMALI STEP BY STEP
First, chop the almonds together with the powdered sugar in a mixer. Proceed intermittently and not continuously to avoid releasing oil from the nuts. You should obtain almost a flour. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add: the orange blossom water and the lightly beaten egg white of one egg, mixing. To decide if you need to add more egg white, adjust by eye and touch. You should obtain a dough with a non-sticky and compact consistency. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for two hours (ideally overnight).
After the resting time, take the dough out of the refrigerator (the dough will be a bit hard but will become workable soon after). Dust the work surface with powdered sugar. Divide the almond paste in half and roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Do the same with the other half of the dough.
From the first dough, use a knife to cut out diamonds, and from the second, disks about 2 inches in diameter using a round cutter and create a cavity in the center where you will later put the glaze. With leftover almond paste, you can re-knead to create more Quaresimali.
Place the almond paste cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a static oven at 320°F for 10 minutes. They should not brown but remain pale; the baking is mainly to cook the egg white. Let them cool completely before removing from the tray.
Spread apricot jam (or your preferred choice) on half of the diamond cookies and then close with the other halves sandwich-style without pressing too hard. Then brush them with sugar syrup made by dissolving 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 tablespoon of water over the heat, and decorate with colored sprinkles. Let dry before serving
To make the sugar glaze, you need to mix the sugar with the lemon juice and then blend. Add a few drops of water gradually until you obtain a thick but still somewhat liquid consistency. You can use it as is, white, or add food coloring. Decorate the round Quaresimali cookies by pouring the glaze in the center and finish with a few sugar sprinkles. Let dry before serving.
STORAGE
Once cooked, the Quaresimali cookies can be stored in an airtight container for a week in a cool and dry place. You can, and should, prepare the dough in advance and let it rest in the fridge even for an entire night for better final results.
NOTES AND TIPS
ALMONDS: They are the main ingredient of the recipe, so I suggest buying only high-quality almonds. You can choose to use almond flour instead of whole almonds.
EGG WHITES: The amount of egg whites to add is indicative. Start with only 1 and then, based on the consistency of the mixture, add a little more of the second egg white. The dough should not be crumbly but rather compact and smooth, almost like shortcrust pastry. Conversely, if it’s too soft and sticky, add a little almond flour.
