Brutti Ma Buoni Cookies (Ugly but Good)

These are so good. If you like meringues and Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, these are for you. (If you don't like those, you're nuts, but you won't like these.) These are Italian cookies that mean ugly but good, and oh man, they live up to the name, at least the latter half. Mmmm. I brought them into the office and they're a big success. Also, they don't have any butter or flour so are healthier than most other cookie options - but there is a lot of sugar, so not that healthy. This is perfect for if you make cinnamon rolls or ice cream or other egg yolk-heavy recipes and have some extra whites to use! I used the Smitten Kitchen recipe but made it a little bigger and cut back on the chocolate a little.

Makes About 40 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups hazelnuts
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/3 tsp salt
6 egg whites
8oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Coffee Cake

My brother in law Austen got me a great baking cookbook for Christmas last year and over the weekend I decided to make coffee cake. Yum! While it was baking, the whole house smelled like a cinnamon-filled bakery. I brought it into work and it was quickly eaten. Such a treat in the morning. The cardamom was a really nice subtle spice.

Ingredients:

For Streusel

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

For the Cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream