Also known as unicetti, anginetti or taralli dolce to the many devotees of Strip District institution Enrico’s Biscotti Company, these cookies are featured in a new cookbook, My Black Book, authored by its founder. Larry Laguttata, also known as the Biscotti Baron, shares not only pasticceria know-how in his gorgeous little tome: there’s also a warm sense of nostalgia about turn-of-the-last- century Italian life in our fair ‘Burgh. The book is a perfect holiday gift.
To purchase the book, enricosbiscotti.com.
ITALIAN LOVE KNOTS RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
3 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp anise extract
Milk
Colored sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
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Heat the butter until completely melted.
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Cream together the melted butter and sugar.
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Add vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt.
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Mix at low speed for about 30 seconds, then add HOT water and combine well. The dough will be tacky.
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On an un-floured board, take a piece of dough weighing about 1 ounce and roll the dough into a log about 2 inches long. Taking the ends of the log, bring one end over the other, then underneath and through the middle, like tying a knot.
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Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let them cool completely.
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In a bowl, place the powdered sugar and anise extract. With a whisk, drizzle in milk a little at a time until you have an icing consistency that suits you. The amount of milk you use will determine the thickness: some like a thick icing, some a simple glaze. Your kitchen, your rules.
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Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze and sprinkle the top with colored sprinkles.
Makes 48 cookies
Recipe by Larry Laguttata / Styling by Anna Calabrese / Photography by Dave Bryce
Recipe excerpted with permission from Larry Laguttata’s cookbook, My Black Book: Enrico Biscotti Company, available at enricobiscotti.com.
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