Fregolata, An Italian Crumb Cookie

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup whole unblanched almond, toasted (about 3 ounces)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 -2 tablespoon whole milk
• confectioners' sugar

Recipe

• 1 position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees f. line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment.
• 2 pulse the nuts in a food processor to finely chop, allowing some larger pieces of nuts to remain.
• 3 in a large bowl, combine butter, almonds, flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. in a small bowl, beat egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of the milk.
• 4 add the extract.
• 5 drizzle yolk mixture over almond mixture and toss with fingers to combine and get everything moistened (if needed add up to 1 more tablespoon of milk).
• 6 mixture should still be crumbly, but not dry, like a crisp topping.
• 7 sprinkle 1 cup (about half of the crumbs) on the prepared baking sheet and press lightly to create a thin, even 8-inch round.
• 8 sprinkle remaining crumbs over the top to give the cookie some texture. bake until golden brown and crisp, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking, about 30 minutes.
• 9 for an extra crispy cookie, turn oven off at this point and let the pan rest in oven for 10 minutes.
• 10 cool on a rack until easy to handle.
• 11 slip the fregolata on the paper onto a rack to cool completely.
• 12 when cool, sift confectioners' sugar over top.
• 13 to serve:.
• 14 place a whole almond or overturned demitasse spoon under the center of the fregolata and rap the top with a spoon or the side of a knife to crack into serving pieces.
• 15 bakers tip:
• 16 dough can be frozen on cookie sheet for up to 1 week and baked from the freezer (for an extra 5 to 10 minutes). store baked cookie in an airtight container or on a baking sheet wrapped with plastic wrap for up to 1 week. baked cookie can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and frozen for up to 2 weeks.