Zaletti - the Venetian Cookie

fx

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 11:54:41 GMT

Glad you liked them Henning!

Henning

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 01:39:59 GMT

These zaletti are delicious! I always make them when the kids need a gift for their teachers. Everybody loves them and asks for the recipe. Thanks!

Mascha

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:04:17 GMT

Thanks for the recipe! They are just out of the oven. They are DELICIOUS! I had to do a few modificatons to the original though: had no rum at home, so had to use some good brandy - which turned out just fine. I also decided to substitute grapes for dates (as being less trivial) and for actual dried cranberries to bring in some acidity. I took 50-50 of each and soaked them in brandy. I was not able to find corn flour either, so doing some polenta in a coffee grinder did the trick. Cookies are deiciously crunchy as a result - since I guess the "flour" turned out to be a bit more coarse than the one you actually buy. I also forgot the baking powder, but the dough raised a bit just fine without it. I also discovered that the dough from your original recipy falls apart when I try to shape it into a sausage. So I added 1 more egg yolk (small egg though), then added 15 gr of brandy and 20 gr of milk into the dough - and then it was so malleable and stuck so well together that you could turn it into Venus de Milo without any problem. Now the result looks like a freewheeler"s interpretation of zalettini rather than the real thing, but it is very good nevertheless. Thanks!

fx

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:20:19 GMT

Richard, you should not use cornstarch, which is only the starch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstarch#Manufacture), but rather cornmeal (ground corn). A very fine polenta flour will work. Good luck!

Richard Bijster, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:25:23 GMT

I"d like to make these tomorrow but I have a question about one ingredient. Corn flour. I"ve bought "Farina di mais/ "Semoule de mais" as I this seems to be the only corn flour I can find, apart from the usual cornflour thickening agent. Can you advise if "Farina di mais" is the correct ingredient?

Regards,

Richard

fx

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:44:43 GMT

Bea, thanks for your praise! Macaroons are tricky to make, they have a special class for them at Len�tres - their most successful in fact. You need to use very clean egg whites which you leave in the fridge for a week or so, and use only white almond powder with super fine sugar. That much I know!

Bea

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:08:41 GMT

Hi,

I"ll make this recipe first thing tomorrow morning!!!..
Thanks for all the tips we find in your site. IS THE MOST "CONFORTABLE" place to be, when you are looking for perfection, Thanks for sharing your years of experience.

Do you have a recipe for French Macarons??..I"m on my "quest" to master them..but..not yet...wish I could go to Paris just for 1 day and have my chance for the Macarons course with Lenotre...but I can"t...

Thanks for your generosity!!!

fx

Sun, 25 May 2008 13:20:16 GMT

Tosca, indeed letting the dough rest for a while is a good idea for two reasons. First this will the flour hydrate fully, and second, which I believe is not applicable in this particular recipe, the gluten can rest after you have worked the dough. Good luck!

Tosca

Sun, 25 May 2008 07:29:42 GMT

I was wondering whether you could have forgotten to form a ball of the dough and put it in the refridgerator for about an hour? Other recipes on the web advise to let the dough rest for a while. I"m baking them right now, I"ll let you know the results.