Italian Almond Crumb Cookie
These "cookies," which are baked in a round cake pan and then cut into wedges, are traditional in the Veneto, where they're called torta sbrisolona. I had them there during a teaching assignment and begged for the recipe. Finally, after several days, my friends got it for me. The crumbliness comes from the almonds and polenta.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarse polenta
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (1/4 lb) ground almonds
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon rum
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round springform pan.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, polenta, sugar, almonds, lemon zest, and salt until well mixed. Add the egg yolks and rum, and process until the mixture looks crumbly, 30 seconds. Add the butter and process just until it starts to look as if it would hold together.
Crumble the mixture evenly into the prepared pan, but do not press it down. Sprinkle the top with the confectioner's sugar. Bake in the oven until light golden, 40 to 45 minutes.
Remove the sides of the springform pan, and immediately cut the cookie into serving pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.
