A Sweet Italian Christmas With Gina DePalma

I recently attended A Sweet Italian Christmas With Chef Gina DePalma. Gina, the recipient of the 2009 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef and author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, has been Executive Pastry Chef at Babbo since the restaurant's inception. During the informative event Gina demonstrated three of her favorite Christmas sweets- Crostoli, Castagnaccio, and Anginetti. The distinct flavors brought back memories of Christmas at my grandma's house- when my stomach was on the verge of exploding, my little Italian grandma would appear with a plate of freshly baked cookies uttering "mangia, mangia..."

Crostoli topped with honey and confectioner's sugar

Castagnaccio brushed with a chestnut honey syrup

Anginetti with festive sprinkles


Gina's recipe for delicious lemony Anginetti-
Anginetti (yield, 4 to 5 dozen)
Ingredients:
For the cookies-
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 large eggs, at room temp (according to Gina, room temp is always best when baking)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (in lieu of vegetable oil and butter, home bakers may want to use 1/2 cup shortening- the use of which is illegal in NYC restaurants)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure lemon extract
1/2 tsp pure anise flavor or extract (or 2 tsp anisette liqueur)
freshly grated zest of 1 lemon (this addition is a departure from traditional Italian Anginetti, but Gina likes the fresh flavor)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
For the icing-
3 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure lemon extract
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 2 silicone molds with round, 1 inch diameter cups by spraying them lightly with nonstick cooking spray (the use of PAM is every pastry chef's guilty secret).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the eggs with the sugar until light, then beat in the oil. Beat in the melted butter, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice and extracts (the mixture will appear curdled and will resemble cake batter rather than cookie dough).
4. Beat in the dry ingredients and form a thicker batter. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes (this step is very important and will allow the flour to become fully absorbed). Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip.
5. Pipe the batter into the molds, filling them halfway. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are puffed and just starting to turn brown at the edges (ensure the cookies don't get too dark).
6. Allow the cookies to cool and prepare the icing. Sift the confectioner's sugar into a large bowl. Whisk the milk, lemon juice and lemon extract until smooth and spreadable (add more milk and/or lemon extract to thin out if necessary).
7. Dip the soft bottoms of the Anginetti in the icing, then flip them over and sprinkle with multicolored sprinkles. Allow to dry on a piece of parchment paper. The cookies can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container.