These Italian cookies are traditional for for All Souls Day, but make a great Halloween treat.
Bones of the Dead Men
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound slivered almonds
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 Tbs butter, room temperature
- 2 cups flour
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg white
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- flour and butter for the cookie sheet
Directions
- Mix all the ingredients together, except the egg yolk.
- If you need to add moisture a small amount of liqueur or Marsala wine works well. Don't use Amaretto.
- Pinch off small pieces, the size of a fava or lima bean. Form them into bean shapes and place on a greased and floured cookie sheet.
- Lightly whisk the egg yolk. Brush the cookies with the egg yolk.
- Cook at 350F for 15 minutes.
Note: All Souls Day is one those great feast days that has been overlooked in the United States. In Italy families visit cemeteries and will even have picnics near the graves of their loved ones. The first thought of many Americans is, "How morbid!" The Feast of All Souls is a celebration of life and not death. It is a feast day that recalls all the Christian faithful who have transitioned from an earthly life to an eternal one.
From Masses for the Dead
Merciful Father, hear our prayer and console us.
As we renew our faith in Your Son,
whom You raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in His resurrection,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Bella Italian Food Recommends
Calphalon Commercial Bakeware Collector's Edition Large Cookie Sheets, Set of 2
Perhaps the perfect cookie sheet. This set features two 14-by-17-inch sheets. The two-ply nonstick coating means that sugary foods such as cookies don't stick. The sheets have lifetime warranties against defects.
