In Italy, ricotta is synonymous to Easter and springtime. Many tables will be adorned with ricotta dishes and desserts this holiday week-end and my table will not be different. Here is a recipe for an alternative to the traditional ricotta pie. The lemon scent is fresh and light and the pastry cream lights up the thickness of the ricotta. It's a bit of work, but so worth it! 

Ingredients
Pastry Cream:
1 lemon peel
½ liter whole milk
120 grams sugar
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
40 grams of flour
250 grams of ricotta cheese

Crust:
150 grams butter at room temperature
150 grams sugar
1 large egg 
1 large egg yolk
350 grams flour
1 zest of lemon
2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of salt
1-2 tablespoons of milk, only if needed

Directions for pastry cream:
1. Wash your lemon and with a pairing knife gently peel your lemon (as if peeling an apple), making sure you don’t remove the pith of the lemon (the white part under the peel) as that is bitter.
2. Bring to a boil the milk with the lemon peel.
3. In a separate medium stainless steel pot, mix the egg yolks and sugar until well blended, add vanilla. 
4. Sift flour over egg mixture and blend.
5. Turn the heat on to low-medium and in a slow stream, add the hot milk to the egg mixture, mixing fiercely with a wooden spoon so as to avoid scrambling the eggs.
6. Cook the cream for several minutes until it thickens up.
7. Transfer cream to a bowl, place plastic wrap directly above it so as to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool. In the meantime, prepare your crust.

Directions for crust:
1. Mix soft butter with sugar.
2. Add egg and egg yolk and mix well.
3. Slowly add flour, it will look dry and crumbly but it will come together nicely.
4. Add the zest and baking powder and a dash of salt.
5. If dough appears dry, you may add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. You should only need to do this is your butter is not soft enough, or you are using smaller eggs. 
6. Invert crust on a slightly floured surface and work the dough until it comes together in a nice ball.
7. Cut about 1/3 of the dough and set aside for topping.
8. Press the remaining 2/3 of dough into a 12-inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray for baking. (If you are concerned about being unable to remove the crostata from the pan after baking, use a tart pan with a removable bottom)
9. Poke the crust with a fork at least 12-15 times, this will prevent any air bubbles from forming while baking.

10. When the pastry cream is cooled, remove the lemon peel and add 250 grams of ricotta cheese and gently fold together.
​
11. Evenly spread cream and ricotta mixture over crust. 
12. With a rolling pin, roll out remaining dough and cut 8-10 equal strips of dough about ½ inch wide. Top the crostata with strips.
13. Bake crostata for 45-55 minutes, until firm.
14. Cool completely before inverting crostata in a serving dish, dust with powdered sugar.

There are many versions of these Easter cookies in Italy. Known as "Taralli di Pasqua", this version is very simple and adaptable. Some taralli are boiled first, then baked and further glazed with a sugar icing made with egg whites, while delicious, they are a bit labor-intensive. This version is by far the easiest. You can add lemon or orange zest instead of vanilla (add 1 tablespoon of milk if not using the vanilla) or anise or almond extract. You can add sprinkles, if wish as well. But I much prefer the humble version of vanilla and no sprinkles as it's very unpretentious and pure for such a wonderful holiday.

Ingredients
2 ¾ cups flour, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp high-quality vanilla extract (do not use imitation)

2 (approx.) cups powdered sugar
2 (approx.) tbsp. milk
2 (approx.) tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350
2) In a medium bowl, or over some wax paper, sift your flour and baking powder
3) In a large bowl whisk the eggs with sugar then add the cooled melted butter and vanilla.
4) Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the dough comes together and forms a nice cookie consistency. Knead with your hands towards the end.
5) Pull about 2 tablespoons of dough and form a 12 inch log by rolling dough on your counter. Cut log in three and form circles, pinching the ends to. Continue with the rest of the dough, you will end with about 28 cookies.
6) Bake for 20 – 21 minutes
7) While the cookies bake, prepare your icing by mixing all of your ingredients. Adjusting the amounts as needed until your icing is the right consistency
8) Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping them in the icing
​

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In the summer of 1997, I was in between jobs and decided to spend the summer in Italy. My aunt Ida made a delicious jam tart, or as it's called in Italian, "crostata" and I just had to master it myself. I was young and just learning my ways in the kitchen and I must say that this is one recipe that I am very proud for having mastered. Every time I make it, it always brings me back to that wonderful summer of 1997. As you can see, once you make the crust a few times and have mastered the process, you can make numerous variations. I plan on making it with ricotta and pastry cream for the upcoming Easter holiday. I will be sure to post a recipe of that one, as it is unbelievably delicious! It's also sinfully delicious made with Nutella. That and orange zest makes for a great combination. 

Spread the crostata dough even on a 12-inch tart. Here, you can see that beautiful orange zest!

Using a fork, prick the dough numerous times. This will  prevent air bubbles from forming while baking.

Look at how beautiful it's starting to look! Spread jam of your choice over it. Here, I've got Stonewall Kitchen's Blueberry Jam. It's one of the best ones I have found and is so delicious! The tart cherry one isn't bad either. ;-) 

Here, we're creating the topping. I've tried the over and under proper lattice topping. I've yet to master it and frankly, whose got time for that! This looks just as beautiful, if you ask me!

Looks good enough to eat! 


​Jam Crostata 
Ingredients
11 Tablespoons Butter, at Room Temperature for Several Hours
2/3 Cups Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
2 ½ Cups Flour
Zest of 1 Orange or 1 Lemon
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Dash of salt
1-2 Tablespoons Milk 
1 13 - 15 Oz Jar of High Quality Jam (do not use jelly)
 
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. With a stand or hand-held mixer, mix soft butter with sugar and add egg and egg yolk and mix well.
3. Slowly add flour, it will look dry and crumbly but it will come together nicely.
4. Add the zest and baking powder and a dash of salt.
5. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. (Amount will depend on the softness of butter and if the eggs you are using are on the smaller side)
6. Invert crust on a slightly floured surface and work the dough until it comes together in a ball. Cut about 1/3 of the dough and set aside for topping.
7. Press the remaining 2/3 of dough into a 12-inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray for baking. (If you are concerned about being unable to remove the crostata from the pan after baking, use a tart pan with a removable bottom)
8. Poke the crust with a fork at least 15 -20 times, this will prevent any air bubbles from forming while baking.
9. Spread jam evenly on crust.
10. With a rolling pin, roll out remaining dough and cut 8-10 equal strips of dough about ½ inch wide. Using a pastry wheel will make a decorative topping, otherwise, you can also use a pizza cutter.
11. Decorate crostata with a lattice topping.
12. Bake for 35 minutes, cool completely before removing from pan.

Here is one I made with Nutella. It was so amazing, I think I cried a little at the first bite! ​
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For so many reasons, I absolutely love these cookies! For one thing, they are super easy. Secondly, they don't have any butter or oil, which I suppose makes me feel a bit less guilty about enjoying a second one.  And they are very adaptable. You can change the flavor and make them in lemon, vanilla, or almond, which I rarely do myself but some folks don't like anise. And with one little extra step, you can change the consistency of the cookie! It does not get any better than these! 

Below, see the various ways in which you can adapt these.

Anisette Sponge (or Toast) 
Ingredients
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon Anise extract 
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a Silpat, if available.
3.Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
4. With a handheld mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed several minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Add the anise extract.
6.With a rubber spatula, add the flour mixture and blend just until combined, do not overbeat. Batter will be soft. 
7. Pour batter onto the baking sheet and with spatula shape into a log. Batter will be too soft to handle with your hands.
8. Bake for 20 minutes
9. Remove from the over and cool for a few minutes.
10. Using a serrated knife, slice biscotti into slices the size of your choosing.
11. Remove the parchment or Silpat from the tray and add the biscotti cut size down and bake and additional 5 minutes. Then turn them and bake for an additional 5 minutes on that side.

* Adaptations:
You can skip the anise and add any other extract you like. You can also use a standard loaf pan instead of a baking sheet. That will give you a more uniform cookie as they will not spread as much. Alternative you can skip the double bake to create an anisette sponge instead of toast. As you can see, you can really experiment with this recipe! 

So, perhaps you're like me and you bought a giant tub of ricotta on sale to make some stuffed shells or lasagna and now you have some left over in the fridge and you don't know what to do with it? That always seems to happen to me with ricotta. I'll use some, but not all, so I end up with leftovers. That's what I get for buying the larger container because it's cheaper! And let's face it, an opened container of ricotta does not last fresh for more than a day or two! 

So, how about baking with it? Forget the pasta and whip up some butter and eggs instead and you've got yourself a nice treat for tomorrow's coffee break at work!! And let's face it, sometimes coffee break is the best part of the work day! 

These are super easy, the flavor is mild, delicate and perfect for a little snack, actually, they're great in lunch boxes for the kids (and adults!)

For the above image, I doubled the recipe I gave you below, I did so for a party. So if you're looking at the picture and thinking, wait, that's more than 3 dozen, it's because I doubled it. You can double this recipe very easily. 

Cherry Topped Ricotta Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 - 4  dozen cookies

Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature for several hours 
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 oz ricotta
3 - 4 dozen maraschino cherry halves (for the holidays, I like a combo of cherry & green)

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes
3. Beat in egg, vanilla and ricotta until well combined.
4. Slowly add in the flour mixture until well combined, but do not over mix. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour, but up to overnight.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
6. With a medium cookie scooper or two spoons, shape some dough into round balls and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. 
7. Press in half a maraschino cherry on top.
8. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. 

Optional:
You can prepare a simple icing with about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 - 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix well and with a fork, drizzle on top of the cookies after cooling, as I have done in the image. 

*Tips: 
If you do not like cherries, you could use an almond or even small chocolate diskette. If you prefer to not add a topping, you could skip one all together and just glaze with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of milk.

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I'm typing up some recipes for an upcoming baking class (see class schedule if interested in attending!) and came across these cuties. We will be baking these plus 8 other desserts over the course of 3 Saturdays. I hope the students enjoy these. I love Italian amaretti cookies, these are a version of those, though not exactly. Still very yummy and appropriate for the upcoming Easter holiday! Enjoy!

Ingredients
8 ounces pignoli (pine nuts)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
1 7 or 8-ounce tube of almond paste
2 egg whites, slightly beaten 
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
​
Instructions
1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. 
2) In a separate bowl, add pine nuts and set aside
3) Combine sugars, flour and salt in a medium bowl and lightly blend with a fork 
4) Place almond paste in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer and mix to break up. 
5) Add beaten egg whites and mix on low speed until smooth. 
6) Add almond extract and flour mixture and beat until flour is blended in, about 30 seconds. Do not over beat.
7) Scoop up a rounded spoon of dough and dip cookies in the pine nut bowl so that they stick to dough. 
8) Place 2" apart on baking sheet and re-apply any loose nuts that may have fallen off
9) Bake cookies for about 20-25 minutes. Start watching at around 18 minutes. Shorter time will result in a soft cookie, longer baking time will give you a chewier cookie.
10) Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

If you’re looking to have your house smelling delicious and like you’ve cooked all day, you must roast some red peppers immediately! Us Italians love our sweet peppers and we use them as a side to a steak, added to salads or in a delicious sandwich or frittata. The method and list of ingredients does not vary much and though you could use green, orange or yellow peppers, the red ones are the easiest to peel and the sweetest ones. Since peppers are mostly water, they will wilt substantially once roasted so you will end up needing more than you think. (The pictures here are of 9 large peppers.) Choose peppers that are bright in color and free of blemishes.
 
Ingredients
6 red peppers (or as many as you wish, but if you’re going to open up your oven, might as well roast at least 6!)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Teaspoon of salt (less or more may be needed, depending on how many peppers you roast)
1 Teaspoon fresh oregano
Fresh basil
1 glove of garlic (if desired)
 
Directions

1. Open your oven to broil and place your rack on the very top
2. For easier clean up, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
3. Wash peppers and place on baking sheet
4.  Roast peppers in the oven for about 20 minutes. Turn peppers every five minutes or so, this allows for them to broil on all sides
5. When peppers are charred on all sides, remove from oven and place entire tray in a large brown bag for a few minutes, this will steam them and make peeling easier.
6. Peel peppers and remove all visible skin and seeds
7. Cut peppers in strips and place in small colander over a bowl, allowing them to drip of their water for at least 1 hour
8. Discard water and place peppers in a bowl, dressing them with the oil, salt, oregano and basil. Add fresh garlic, if desired. You can refrigerate them for about 4 days, less if you are adding the garlic, as it could turn bitter

 
 

There are a few dishes that scream Sunday Supper in every Italian household. Meatballs, braciole, chicken cacciatore, and of course, chicken cutlets. I love making these as they make great leftovers the next day at work! As you can see from the recipe, I like a high parmigiano cheese to breadcrumb ratio and sometimes it's actually 50/50. Watch the salt here since the cheese is a bit salty on it's own. I always enjoy these with a side of stir-fried peas and pearl onions. It's a combination I grew up on and hard to break!

Italian Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients
1 – 2 lb chicken tenders or chicken cutlets (if using tenders pound them slightly with a meat mallet, this will make frying them easier and faster)
½ cup of flour (you can stick this but it does help the coating stick)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 to 1 ½ cups of unseasoned breadcrumbs
½ to ¾ cups of freshly grated parmigiano cheese
salt to taste

Several cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions
1) Prepare a workstation and in three bowls add the flour in one, the lightly beaten eggs in the second one and in the third bowl add the breadcrumbs with the cheese. Blend the bread and cheese with fingertips or a fork.
2) Wash chicken under cold running water and dry with paper towel
3) Lightly sprinkle with salt
4) One at a time, lightly coat the tenders in the flour, shaking off excess.
5) Next, dredge them in the egg wash
6) After that, add to the bread/cheese bowl until you have a nice even coating
7) Place in the prepared baking sheet while heating your oil
8) In a large frying pan add enough vegetable oil until it comes about ½ way up the pan.
9) Fry cutlets in several batches, making sure not to overcrowd your pan. Fry for about 4 minutes per side, making sure the oil is not too hot, or they’ll burn on the outside but not cook fully on the inside.

Tips
• The amount of ingredients above are all estimates, you can adjust according to how much chicken you are using
• The same method makes great veal cutlets
• Be sure to use unflavored, bakery-style bread crumbs that are fresh, do not use pre-packed grocery bread brumbs
• Discard any unused flour, breadcrumbs or egg
• Homemade tomato sauce makes an excellent dipping sauce
​