A CROSS-CULTURAL COOKIE

 This week three religious holidays converge—the Christian Semana Santa and Pascua de Resurrección (Holy Week and Easter), the Jewish Passover or Pesach (Pascua Judía) and the Muslim Ramadan. 

Once upon a time, before the Reconquest and the Expulsion (1492), Spain was a land of convivencia, where Christians, Muslims (known as the “Moors”) and Sephardic Jews inhabited the same towns and villages. 

Here’s a cookie of convivencia, one that might have been prepared by all three of those communities. Almendrados are a sweet treat for Easter dinner, for the Passover table when no wheat flour or leavening is permitted, or for iftar, the meal that ends the Ramadan fasting at sundown. 

Almond cookies are a sweet treat for spring holiday meals.

Pair almendrados with seasonal fruit such as strawberries and nísperos, loquats.

Almendrados with fruit cup of sliced berries and loquats. Whipped cream is optional.

The cookies are nutty and chewy.

The recipe comes from Repostería Monacal de las Hermanas Clarisas (Ardatz y S.P.A.M., San Sebastian; 1999), a collection of dessert and pastry recipes from Clarisa convents across Spain. This recipe was contributed by the nuns of the Monasterio de la Ascension de Nuestro Señor in Lerma (Burgos). It differs from other almendrado recipes (including those in Sephardic cookbooks) in that the eggs are separated and the whites beaten stiff, producing a cookie with a lighter texture. 

I decreased the proportion of sugar called for in the original recipe (1 kilo almonds and 1 kilo sugar). You could decrease the quantity even more. In fact, next time I make almendrados, I’m going to try them sugar-free. 

Grind almonds to flour.

Use store-bought unsweetened ground almond flour, if you can get it. Otherwise, use a food processor to grind blanched and skinned almonds to flour. If you’re starting with natural almonds, they need to be blanched in boiling water and skinned before toasting and grinding them. 

I used three large eggs for this recipe and found that, because the almond dough was fairly soft, the cookies flattened out considerably in baking. That’s why I’m suggesting in the recipe that you use medium-sized eggs. 

Line the cookie sheets with baking parchment. The cookies while still hot from the oven are likely to break if you try to remove them from the sheet. Slide the sheet of parchment with the cookies onto cooling racks. Allow the cookies to cool before lifting them off the parchment.  

The cookies are good served with coffee or tea. They pair nicely with spring fruit desserts. Depending on your religious proclivities: add liqueur or fruit juice to the fruit. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream or keep it dairy-free. 

Almond Cookies

Almendrados

Makes about 40 cookies.

16 ounces blanched almonds or unsweetened almond flour 

1 ½ cups sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 medium eggs, separated

40 almonds to decorate the cookies

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Spread the almonds (or almond flour) in a rimmed sheet pan. Place in the oven, stirring once, until they are very lightly golden, 8-10 minutes. Watch carefully so that the almonds don’t burn. (Almond flour will toast even faster.) (If toasting the almonds in advance of making the cookies, turn the oven off. If continuing with the cookies, reduce heat to 350ºF.)

Allow the almonds to cool, then grind them in a food processor as coarse or fine as you like. Place the ground almonds in a mixing bowl. Combine the sugar in a small bowl with the cinnamon, zest and salt. Rub the sugar between the fingers to thoroughly mix the zest with the sugar. Add to the bowl with the ground almonds. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Stir the yolks to blend, then fold them into the whites. Add the eggs in two parts to the almonds and sugar. Fold the eggs in as lightly as possible. 

Set oven temperature to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment. 

Ready to bake.

Using fingers or two spoons, take up a piece of the almond mixture and shape into a ball about the size of a walnut. If dough seems sticky, dip hands or spoons in cold water. Place the balls on the cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart, as they will spread in baking. Press an almond into the center of each ball.

Slide the sheet of parchment with cookies onto cooling rack.

Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven and slide the whole sheet of parchment onto a cooling rack. Do not try to remove the cookies from the parchment until they are completely cool. 

The cookies keep well, stored in an air-tight container. 

More almond cookies: 

Almond Puffs (Suspiros).

Almond Ring Cookies (Melindres).

More about loquats here.

Wishing you a sweet and blessed holiday/springtime. 

DESSERT: ARE THEY DUMPLINGS OR BLOBS?

As I was rolling out matzo balls earlier this week, it occurred to me that, if they were cooked in caramel syrup instead of chicken soup, they might be rellenos dulces, a dessert typical for this time of year in La Mancha (central Spain). 

The rellenos are balls or blobs, sort of like dumplings, made with stale bread—definitely not allowed during the Passover holiday. But they can also be made of ground crumbs, much like matzo meal. Many small La Mancha towns have a repertory of foods—especially sweets—that derive from their Jewish heritage. So, it’s not so far-fetched to make the comparison. In any case, Passover ends at nightfall today, so these dumplings in caramel syrup can be enjoyed by all.

Dumplings made of bread crumbs are first fried, then poached in caramel syrup with cinnamon.

What makes rellenos different from most dumplings is that they are fried in olive oil before being poached. Because they are sweet, not savory, the poaching medium is caramel syrup inflected with cinnamon and orange zest.

In La Mancha, the rellenos are served as dessert. But, their similarity to French toast might make you happy to serve them at breakfast, as well.

This is the sort of homespun dessert that children love. And, it's a great way to use up stale bread.

To serve, sprinkle the dumplings in syrup with pine nuts. Add any fresh fruit.

Dumplings soak up the caramel syrup and become spongy-soft.

Sweet Dumplings in Caramel Syrup
Rellenos Dulces

Use a heavy pot to make the caramel syrup, preferably one with a light-colored surface so you can tell when the sugar becomes caramel-brown in color.

Add hot water to the melted and caramelized sugar very carefully, as it will splutter and foam.

Serve the dumplings chilled, spooning some of the syrup over them. A sprinkling of pine nuts or slivered almonds is typical. Ice cream, whipped cream or—my preference—unsweetened Greek yogurt—makes a lovely accompaniment.

Dumplings start with bread crumbs.

Makes about 20 dumplings.

For the bread dumplings:
10 ounces day-old bread (5-6 thick slices)
¼ teaspoon saffron, crushed (optional)
3 tablespoons hot water
¼ teaspoon salt
6 eggs
Olive oil for frying

For the caramel syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons water
4 cups hot water
1 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick

To serve the dumplings:
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Sliced oranges or other fruit to garnish
Whipped cream, ice cream or Greek yogurt to serve

Remove and discard crusts from the bread. Break into pieces and put in a food processor. Process to make coarse crumbs (3 ½ -4 cups). Put them in a mixing bowl.

Saffron for a golden touch.

If using saffron, dissolve it in the 3 tablespoons hot water. Dribble over the bread crumbs with the salt and mix. Add eggs, one by one. Stir to combine very well. Chill the mixture at least 30 minutes. 

Place oil in a deep skillet to a depth of 1 inch and heat on medium-high. Scoop up dough with a tablespoon. Use a second spoon to smooth the dough into an oval shape and slide it into the hot oil.  Continue shaping and frying dumplings, turning them once. When dumplings are golden-brown, remove them.  (Dumplings can be fried up to a day before finishing them in the syrup.)

Fry spoonfuls of the dough in oil.

Dumplings can be made in advance, simmered in the syrup later. They don't need to be crisp.

Sugar melts and gradually turns caramel-brown.

To make the syrup, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy pan large enough to hold all the dumplings. Cook the sugar on a medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted and turns an even golden-brown color. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Gradually add the 4 cups of hot water. The molten sugar will sputter and foam at first. Return the pan to the heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water. Add the orange blossom water, if using, the strips of orange and lemon zest and the cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let the syrup bubble gently, uncovered, until reduced, about 20 minutes. Skim out and discard the zest and cinnamon.

After frying, the dumplings are poached in caramel syrup.

Add the fried dumplings to the syrup. Bring again to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer them 15 minutes. Let the dumplings cool in the syrup, then chill them before serving.

Serve dumplings and syrup sprinkled with toasted pine nuts. Garnish as desired with sliced oranges or other fruit. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or yogurt if you like.

Puffy dumplings in sweet syrup go nicely with a spoonful of unsweetened yogurt.

Recipes for savory dumplings (rellenos):

Dumplings with Chickpeas and Spinach.

Dumplings with Cocido.

More desserts made with bread:

Sweet Fried Bread (Picatostes).

Sweet Toasts (Torrijas).

Cheese Custard Squares (Quesada).

SOMETHING SWEET FOR HOLY WEEK-- OR PRE-PASSOVER

Torrijas are cinnamon-scented slices of fried bread.

This week all the local bread and pastry shops display trays of sugared or honeyed slices of fried bread dusted with cinnamon called torrijas. Torrijas are somewhat like “French toast,” but in Spain they are served as dessert or snack, not breakfast.

In Andalusia and La Mancha, torrijas are absolutely essential during Holy Week and Easter holidays. I have wondered if—in these lands where 600 years ago Christians and Jews lived together as neighbors—this custom derives from the Jewish tradition of using up all of the hametz, or leavened bread, before Passover—the springtime festival that coincides with Holy Week. Possibly conversos—converts to Christianity—brought with them to a new religion some of the customs of the former.

In any case, torrijas bring such a welcome sweetness to the austerity of Lenten foods.

The basic preparation: dip or soak thick slices of stale bread in sweetened milk, wine syrup or sweet wine, then into beaten egg. No, don’t mix the milk and egg together. Fry them in olive oil until golden. Sprinkle with sugar or drizzle with honey boiled with a little water. Sprinkle with lots of cinnamon. Serve at room temperature.


Sweet Toasts
Torrijas

Serves 6.

Stale bread, eggs, milk and cinnamon

12 (3/4-inch thick) slices stale bread
2 cups + 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 strip lemon peel
1 stick cinnamon
2 eggs
olive oil for frying
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar or 2 tablespoons

   honey boiled with 1 tablespoon

    water

Place the slices of bread in one layer in a shallow pan.

In a saucepan heat 2 cups of milk with 1/2 cup sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon stick until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain the milk.

 Pour the milk over the bread and allow to set until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Beat the eggs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk. Place eggs in a shallow bowl. Heat enough oil in a large, heavy skillet to completely cover the bottom. Dip the slices of bread into the egg on both sides. Fry them until browned on both sides. Remove to a platter. Add additional oil to the skillet as needed and continue frying the remaining slices of bread.

When all the bread slices are fried, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar or drizzle with boiled honey. Serve the toasts at room temperature.