Granita di Caffe / Amaretti Biscotti

Recipes by Enza Sebastiani, as featured at our Italian Summer Lunch for Mercy Corps

Granita di Caffè con Panna / Espresso Granita with Whipped Cream
Makes 8 2oz. servings

Lavazza Espresso is recommended and you can use any of their espresso blends. If this brand is not available, substitute with any fine, pre-ground espresso you have on hand. You will want to make a very strong brew for this recipe so that the flavor of the espresso comes through the cold.

Ingredients:

Espresso powder
Water
Turbinado brown sugar
1/4 bunch fresh mint
1 cp. whipping cream
2.5 Tbs. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Granita Directions:

1. Using a stovetop espresso maker (like Bialetti) or a French press, brew 2 cups of coffee.
2. Add turbinado sugar to taste.
3. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then freeze overnight.

Panna Directions (on the day you’re serving the Granita):

1. Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment, whip the cream on ‘High’ until you get soft peaks, about 10 minutes.
2. Fold in powdered sugar & vanilla.
3. Chill until ready to serve.

To Serve:

1. Using a spoon, shave frozen Granita and fill 2/3rds of a small (2 ounce) serving glass with shavings.
2. Top the rest of the glass with the prepared whipped cream and garnish with mint. Serve immediately.

Amaretti Biscotti
Makes 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:      
1 lb. almond paste
1 3/4 cups white sugar
4 large egg whites
1 lb. pine nuts (approximately 3.5 to 4 cups)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine the almond paste and sugar in a large mixing bowl, breaking up the paste with your fingers and crumbling the ingredients together as you would for a pie crust, until evenly combined. The resulting mixture will be thick and dry.
3. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer with the whip attachment beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Stir in some of the whipped egg whites into the almond mixture to soften up the mixture. Then add the remaining egg whites in batches, folding gently to incorporate.
4. Place the pine nuts in a shallow bowl.  Roll the almond paste mixture into 1-inch balls, keeping them as round as possible.  Press each ball into the nuts and gently turn to coat evenly; they will look like little porcupines.
5. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake the cookies until evenly pale gold, about 10-15 minutes.  Watch carefully to see that they are lightly colored, not brown.
7. Cool the cookies in the pans on a wire rack for about 5 minutes.  With a spatula, very carefully transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely. These biscotti keep well stored in an airtight container.