Preparation for the stracette typical Calabrian cookies

• To prepare the stracette, start by preparing all the ingredients. Coarsely blend the candied orange peels and set them aside, then proceed with the almonds, not too powdered but coarsely, so that they are felt when you bite a cookie. The almonds should have their skin; if you toast them, let them cool before chopping.
  If you don’t have candied fruit, add the zest of a grated orange.

• The dough can be made by hand in a bowl or with a stand mixer, I used the latter.
  Place the sugar and soft butter in the mixer bowl or a bowl, mix with a spoon or set to speed 2 for a few minutes.

• Proceed by adding the eggs, beat them well, then add the rest of the ingredients: the almonds, the chopped candied peel, and the vanilla vial, mix for a few more minutes and finally add the ammonia dissolved in a tablespoon of milk, don’t worry about the unpleasant smell, it disappears with cooking, and finally the sifted flour.

  

• Work everything well until you obtain a homogeneous dough, the dough is a bit sticky, shiny, and oily, if needed, sprinkle with a little more flour to work it well, then place it on a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper and let it rest in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Not too much otherwise, it becomes too hard to work with.

• After resting, take the dough back, meanwhile, preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C) fan, and keep it hot.
  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper to a thickness of about 1/2 inch (1 cm). Cut strips and shape the cookies to your preferred size, mine are 2.4 inches (6 cm) per side.

• Place the obtained squares on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spaced a bit to prevent sticking, as they will grow a little during baking. Beat the egg and brush the surface of each cookie to make them shiny after baking.

• Bake the cookies in the already hot oven at 356°F (180°C) fan, place the baking tray in the center and bake for about 13-15 minutes, adjust by eye, the cookies should be nicely golden, baking time varies depending on the power of your oven.
  

• During baking, and especially when you open the oven, you will smell a strange pungent odor released by the ammonia, but rest assured that once baked and then cooled, the smell evaporates and is no longer perceived.
  If you really can’t stand it, replace with 1/2 packet of baking powder, but the result won’t be the same, ammonia makes them very crumbly and light.
  

• After baking, remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool completely before storing.
  To maintain freshness, store them airtight in a tin or glass cookie jar, and they keep well for many days.

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