Ugly but good are small cookies made in many Italian regions. We make them with almonds at home, but no one stops you from using hazelnuts.
They are a classic recipe to use egg whites at Christmas when making mascarpone cream to accompany panettone.
They can easily be baked in a home oven, requiring a very quick bake, as there is a risk of burning them.
Since purchasing my air fryer, I try to experiment with traditional recipes using it as much as possible. This is one of those situations!
Here are some recipes perfect for a family lunch.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 30 cookies
- Cooking methods: Air Fry
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 259.07 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 22.00 (g) of which sugars 16.02 (g)
- Proteins 8.24 (g)
- Fat 17.34 (g) of which saturated 1.32 (g)of which unsaturated 15.24 (g)
- Fibers 4.34 (g)
- Sodium 15.40 (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
Ingredients for Ugly But Good
- 8.8 oz almonds
- 3.5 oz sugar
- 2 egg whites
Tools
- Air Fryer
- Electric Whisk
Preparation of Ugly But Good in the Air Fryer
Finely chop the almonds and set them aside.
Pour the egg whites into a large bowl and start whipping them with the electric whisk. After a few minutes, add the sugar and whip until you get a shiny, fluffy mass that forms ribbons when you lift the whisk.
Add the chopped almonds to the whipped egg whites and mix gently. The mixture should be very thick; test it by scooping a teaspoon of it. It should stand firmly. If it’s too soft, add a little more chopped almonds.
This step is crucial; if the mixture is too soft during cooking, the ugly but good will spread. They’ll still taste great, but they won’t look as good. Basically, they’ll be even uglier.
Place the mixture in small mounds, using a teaspoon, on the baking paper tray for cooking in the air fryer.
Preheat the air fryer with the appropriate program, mine heats to 392°F for 4 minutes, then insert the tray into the fryer basket, being careful not to burn yourself.
Cook at 266°F for about 15 minutes.
Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the baking paper.
