Name: Dolce per i Morti (“Day of the Dead” Cookies)
Yield: Makes 5 to 6 dozen cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon ground cloves; 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup (about 10 ounces) currant jelly; ½ scant cup brewed espresso coffee, room temperature, sweetened with 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 teaspoons ammonium bicarbonate or 2 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; Zest of 2 mandarin or navel oranges; 1 scant cup (4½ ounces) blanched almonds, toasted in a 350°F. oven and diced; 3½ ounces fondant chocolate, shaved or grated; Confectioners’ sugar for sifting; Zest of 1 lemon; 3¾ cups (18 ounces) all-purpose flour; ½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons (4½ ounces) sugar

Preparation info

Makes
5 to 6 dozen
cookies

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

One glance at the ingredients that Marzia Buontempo uses to make these crispy spice- and chocolate-laced cookies makes it easy to guess that they come from an ancient tradition. Ammonium bicarbonate, a leavening that has the side effect of promoting dryness, gives the cookies an extra crunch. You can buy it at pharmacies and from a few mail-order suppliers; see the Source Guide to Ingredients at the back of the book. You can also use the equiv