Italian Hazelnut-Citrus Cookies

These flourless cookies, made from egg whites, are an Italian treat known as Brutti ma Buoni, or Ugly but Delicious!

The Italians say they are brutti, but I don’t think they look so bad. Anyway, just wait until you taste them!

Brutti ma Buoni, Ugly but Delicious—these cookies, favorites in Rome, are rather misshapen things when they come out of the oven, but you won’t notice their ungainly appearance once you bite into the crunchy, sweet treats flavored with lemon and orange zest and chopped hazelnuts.

These cookies are based on whipped egg whites and don’t contain flour—so no gluten! If, like me, you often use egg yolks to make things like mayonnaise, you have the leftover egg whites stored in the fridge and freezer. This is one of my favorite recipes for using those whites—you’ll need three whites for this.

You’ll need a large cookie sheet, or two sheets, providing enough space for about 30 well-spaced cookies. Unfortunately, I often don’t follow that advice and end up squeezing too many cookies onto one sheet (see photo below), so they overlap as they bake—I need to buy another cookie sheet!

You’ll also need to have superfine sugar on hand, also known a caster sugar or baker’s sugar, which makes a difference in the cookies’ final texture and color. I’ve tried using regular sugar for this and have realized that superfine sugar works much better.

Ingredients:

1. 3 egg whites

2. 1/2 cup superfine sugar (aka caster or baker’s sugar)

3. 1 cup blanched or roasted hazelnuts (see notes¹ and ²)

4. Zest of 1 lemon (see note³)

5. Zest of one orange

6. Butter for greasing the cookie sheet

The flavor comes from superfine (caster) sugar, lemon and orange zest, and chopped hazelnuts.

Instructions:

1. Prepare a cookie sheet by rubbing butter over the surface, which will help prevent sticking (see note⁴)

2. In a bowl, mix the chopped nuts with the superfine sugar and the lemon and orange zest

3. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or other electric beater/whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff and peaky (see photo below)

4. Scrape the egg whites into the bowl with the nut mixture and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold the ingredients together (see note⁵ and photo below)

5. Use a tablespoon to scoop some of the batter and use another spoon to scrape it onto the cookie sheet, repeating until all of the batter is gone—about 30 cookies (see photos below)—and leaving at least half an inch between them

6. Bake at 375 degrees F (350 convection) for 15–20 minutes

7. Remove the cookies from the oven (they should be medium brown in color and firm to the touch) and let them cool before removing them to a container, where they will last for several days

This is how egg whites look when beaten until stiff and peaky.

The ingredients have been thoroughly blended by using a rubber spatula to fold them together.

Use a tablespoon (or Chinese soup spoon as here!) to measure out the batter. Use a second spoon to scrape it onto the cookie sheet.

You’ll get about 30 cookies. Be sure to have a large enough cookie sheet to give them room to expand. These were actually too close together, as they ran into each other as they baked.

1. The traditional recipe calls for blanched hazelnuts, but I have also used roasted nuts (unsalted) with good results. The roasted nuts will likely still have the brown skins on them, so to remove a lot of the loose skins, you can wrap them in the towel and rub them vigorously between your hands. I have also used toasted pecans instead of hazelnuts for this recipe.

2. Use a large, sharp knife to hand-chop the nuts. Chopping the nuts in a food processor results in inconsistently sized pieces, from tiny crumbs to whole nuts, so chopping by hand is the best way to get more evenly sized pieces.

3. To get a finely grated zest, use a microplane grater to scrape off the yellow or orange part of the skin, leaving the white part behind. The thin strips of citrus are full of extremely fragrant oils that will flavor the cookies.

4. The cookies tend to stick, so use whatever method works best for you to prevent that, such as nonstick sheets. I may try using buttered parchment paper next time.

5. To fold ingredients together, gently scrape a rubber spatula along the side of the bowl, moving from the top edge the bottom of the bowl. When the spatula reaches the bottom, pull it up through the middle of the ingredients. Once the nuts appear to be evenly blended throughout the whites (you’ll still see white streaks in the mixture if it isn’t completely blended), stop folding. Don’t overdo it. Many of the millions of tiny bubbles that give the stiff whites their structure will inevitably deflate as you do this, but as long as you don’t overdo the folding step, or try to mix it with stirring motion, there will be plenty left to yield nice cookies.