Ugly But Good Cookies ("Brutti Ma Buoni") (Paleo, gluten-free)
These classic Italian cookies have toasty hazelnuts folded into sweetened meringue. Chewy, crunchy, and they only need 4 ingredients!
Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 105kcal
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup / 3.35 oz. / 95g hazelnuts
- 1 egg white
- pinch of sea salt
- ⅓ cup / 1.95 oz. / 55g sugar or coconut sugar (for refined sugar-free/Paleo)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°.
- Add the hazelnuts to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are toasted and the skins are starting to split.
- Let the nuts slightly cool on a kitchen towel.
- Turn the oven down to 300°. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Fold the towel over the nuts and rub them vigorously to remove the skins. You can also use your fingers to pick the skins off. It's fine if not all the skin falls off.
- Add the nuts to a food processor and pulse until you get a nubbly mixture of smaller bits and larger chunks (even some whole hazelnuts are okay). Or chop by hand to achieve a similar texture.
- Using a hand mixer or whisk, whip the egg white with the pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Keep whipping while you add the sugar a spoonful at a time. The egg whites might lose some of the air you whipped into them and become sticky but that's okay.
- Stir in the hazelnuts. Drop 1 tablespoon/1" scoops onto the parchment-lined baking sheet about 1.5-2" apart from each other (the cookies will spread a bit as they bake). Bake for 15-20 minutes (the longer they bake, the crunchier they'll get), rotating the pan 180° halfway through baking.
- Set the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let cool completely before digging in.
Notes
Make ahead instructions
The cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. They might get a bit chewier as they sit.
They can also be frozen: place the cooled cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, store the cookies in a freezer-safe container or baggie in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge. The cookies might be chewier than when first baked but they'll still be delicious.
Substitutions and variations:
- You can use almonds instead of hazelnuts or use a 50/50 mix of both. Toast the almonds with the hazelnuts but don't bother peeling.
- You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the egg whites.
- You can add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the egg whites.
- You can add 2 teaspoons espresso powder to the egg whites.
- You can add the grated zest of 1 lemon or half an orange to the egg whites.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg