Taralli Baresi

Ciao a tutti!! One of my favorite things about being in Italy is getting to experience all of the amazing, wonderful food that Italy has to offer. Fresh mozzarella. Plump and juicy tomatoes. And tarallis. What are tarallis? Well…I’ll tell you!

Tarallis are an Italian biscotti that were introduced centuries ago in the Puglia region of Italy. A lot of people refer to them as the Italian pretzel because of their shape and crunchy texture. It’s a cross between a biscuit, a cookie and a pretzel.

When I was in Italy the first time, I had the most amazing Tarallis, they were these huge round braided twists filled with almonds. I never thought I would be able to eat REAL Italian tarallies again until I returned to Italy. Until now.

I had the chance to try the Fennel Tarallis from Taralli Baresi. WOW!! They were just like the ones I had in Italy. I put them out for a party because I wanted a few opinions. My mother said they reminded her of one’s she had when she was a child, growing up in a very Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. They were so crunchy and flavorful and the flavor of the fennel was perfect, not too much to be overpowering and not too little that you couldn’t taste it. They are perfect accompanied with a glass of wine.

I strongly suggest you take a look at the site and see all of the delicious flavors that they offer and get on it really quickly!! These babies are AMAZING!! And while you're at it, go show them a little love on facebook and take a look at the pictures of the yummy tarallis right here!  Ciao for now! 

Baci Espresso Cookies

For today’s sweet treat, I will be featuring some decadent Baci Espresso cookies!!

Il Dolce (Dessert)

I absolutely adore chocolate, nuts and espresso. All together or separately, it makes no difference. So when I was in Rome this past summer and stumbled upon a gelato cafe right around Piazza Navona and saw “Baci Espresso” as a flavor, I knew I was in the right place.  Baci translates to kiss in Italian, but I bet if you think of Baci, you think of those amazing chocolates with the hazelnut center. The gelato had a deep chocolate espresso base with chunks of chocolate and hazelnuts. It was absolutely amazing. Come summer I plan to take out my ice cream maker and try to recreate some of the gelato I had in Italy (including the most intense chocolate gelato I have ever had, called nero fondente.) But, I’m not quite ready for gelato. So until then, I have recreated the taste and made these equally delicious Baci Espresso cookies. While they are not the prettiest cookies, they are certainly pleasing to the palette. They are fudgy, chocolaty and the hazelnuts add a lovely crunchy to an otherwise smooth cookie.

Baci Espresso Cookies

10 ounce of dark chocolate
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons espresso powder
1/8^th teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
1 ½ cups of hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt together. Stirring frequently, melt butter with chocolate. Whisk in the egg mixture. Stir in the flour and nuts. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter on baking sheet.

Bake until the surface of the cookie looks dry and the centers are still gooey, around 11-13 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. If you don’t eat them all in one sitting, store the leftover cookies in a tightly sealed container.

Buon Appetito!