I realize I just recently wrote about a gift I received – the healthy granola that a neighbor brought over as I was recuperating. But I feel the need to write about another gift I received during my convalescence. I don’t know if people realize the impact that homemade food can have on someone, but for me at least, freshly made soup or baked goods made a tremendous difference. Just knowing that someone cared enough to cook for me often left me speechless. So I want to do all I can to share these amazing recipes with you.

The soup and baked goods I mention were brought over by Mary and Jeanne – two friends I seldom see but whose vibrance mixed with their culinary skills make them a favorite pair of visitors. They opened the door bearing a large cloth box filled with Italian soup (that recipe will likely grace these pages at a later date), bread from a local bakery, freshly grated parmesan cheese, a few chilled DRY sodas, organic treats for the dog … and the strangest looking little cookies I had ever set eys on.

These baked goods were miniature and oddly shapen. I was at first a bit skeptical that they would be all that good. Being a true American, I am used to the obscenely oversized cookies oozing with chocolate and smelling of butter. These were altogether different. But considering the source, I overcame my initial concern and dug in. And…light, airy, chewy, just sweet enough – divine. A new favorite cookie – by a long shot.

Their Italian name is Brutti Ma Buoni – which translates to “Ugly but Good.” I’ll say. Despite their name – they are refined. And they are one of my favorites not only because they taste sublime. Comprised of mostly feathery almond “powder”, they are studded with chewy apricots and crisp walnuts. Additionally, they are healthy (no saturated fats, high in protein from all the nuts), easy to make and the perfect treat for my gluten-free friends (no flour!).

A number of different recipes resulted from a simple Google search. But I wanted to recreate the ones my friends brought over – I just can’t imagine any better. So the recipe below is copied exactly from a feint xerox copy my friend emailed. I don’t know its origin. The only change I made was to refrain from flourig the baking sheets. Parchment and a mist of cooking spray make these truly gluten-free and this approach worked just fine.

I hope you’ll try them. Don’t be dismayed by their appearance. Just one bite and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be an “Ugly” convert. Buon appetito!

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Brutti Ma Buoni (Ugly but Good)

Makes about 32 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups blanched almonds (8 ounces)
• 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons minced moist dried apricots
• Parchment paper
• Vegetable oil cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and mist lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

Grind almonds in food processor until finely powdered and beginning to hold together – it will start to look a bit like small, dry couscous. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the work bowl (about 3 minutes).

Blend in sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt. With machine running, pour in egg white through feed tube and blend until mixture forms a ball. It will turn into the consistency of marzipan – I used a metal spoon to scrape it from the bottom of the mixing bowl – no mere rubber spatula would suffice.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Mix in the chopped walnuts and apricots.

Grab a bit (roughly a teaspoon) of dough and arrange on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. It will be sticky and a bit messy - but persevere!

Place both sheets into oven. After 10 minutes exchange the top sheet and the bottom sheet. Bake another 3 to 7 minutes until just beginning to brown. Cool on racks. Store in airtight container

I was trying to figure out what to bake the other day for a special occasion. Some dear friends were coming over to help me plan for my upcoming surgery and hospital stay – they are managing all my care and they deserved a treat. So I started off trying a “healthy” version of chocolate biscotti. And I have to admit, these were the worst cookies I have ever produced. Dry, heavy, not even close to chocolately enough. A catastrophe in my book. So I went back to the drawing board. And I decided that “healthy” was not a top priorities for the cookies I wanted to bake. These were for a celebration – they were meant to be a gift. So if white flour and butter needed to be featured – so be it. No doubt there are a number of more wholesome cookie recipes out there – but I stumbled upon this recipe for shortbread cookies and could not be swayed.

The original recipe called for lemon zest as the main source of flavor. However I wanted to tweak it a bit – change it up. So I added some finely chopped rosemary and – voila – a lovely savory sweet combination. Then I got to thinking about making a second version. I couldn’t just have one option for my friends. So I made another batch, omitted the lemon and replaced it with extra vanilla. Then I chopped up some lavender flowers and tossed them in. Another hit!

I must admit, I love it when I stumble upon a recipe that I know immediately will become a staple in my repetoire. These are so very easy to make. They’re not too sweet. They are different from what people expect, a bonus in my book. They freeze extremely well. They make fabulous gifts. The list goes on. But I will stop here. Because I want you to run out and buy butter and flour and lemons and lavender and all the other ingredients and whip up a batch. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Rosemary Lemon Cookies

(Makes approximately 50 cookies)

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
• 1 ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon extract, mix until well blended.

Add rosemary, lemon zest, salt and flour. Mix well.

Divide the dough in half and shape them into logs. Place on a piece of parchment paper. Roll the logs about 1 1/2″ in diameter. Chill in the freezer for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375F. Take the logs out of the freezer. Cut the logs into 1/4″ slices and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.  (If they don’t start to brown and remain pale in color, they won’t be as crispy.) Cool on a wire rack.

Lavender Vanilla version: Omit lemon zest and rosemary. Increase the vanilla to 1 tablespoon and add 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped lavender flowers.