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
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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
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