This unique two-step method of making these Bruttiboni Italian cookies provides the perfect texture you come to expect from a meringue cookie. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
The combination of roasted nuts makes these Italian Meringue Cookies truly sensational!
When you first bite into these Italian hazelnut cookies, your initial sensation will be that of a crispy exterior, followed by a soft, chewy interior.
Just like this family recipe for Mostaccioli, these Brutti ma Buoni cookies are a great addition to your platter of Italian Christmas cookies.
Apparently, the first person to come up with the genius idea of adding nuts to a meringue-based cookie was a pastry chef in the region of Lombardi in 1878.
His name was Constantino Veniani, and he owned a pastry shop in a small town called Gavirate, just north of Milan.
He called these cookies brutti ma buoni, which literally translates into ugly but good. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I will let you decide if these cookies merit the description of being ugly…
As far as the taste goes, I would describe them as exceptional.
Bruttiboni ingredients
A printable recipe card found at the bottom of this page has the specific amounts for each ingredient. This is just a summary.
- Egg whites. An essential component to making a great Italian meringue cookie.
- Salt. Just a pinch.
- Vanilla Extract. No imitation will do, use the real thing and you will actually taste the difference.
- Cinnamon. Just a bit to give the meringue a little kick.
- Sugar. Another crucial ingredient when making this classic meringue cookie.
- Almonds. Roasted and with the skin on.
- Hazelnuts. These will also be roasted but we need to remove their skins.
As far as accessories are concerned, a food processor to grind the nuts makes this whole process so much easier than manually chopping them up. You will also need a stand mixer (or handheld mixer) to whisk the egg whites properly.
A small pot, a heat-proof bowl, a wooden spoon and a medium-sized ice cream scoop will ensure equal-sized cookies.
Finally, we will need a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
It’s now time to make this wonderful gluten-free cookie! Are you ready?
How to make bruttiboni cookies
This recipe for these Italian Meringue cookies is unique as it requires both roasted hazelnuts and almonds. You need 1⅓ cups of each.
Once roasted, use your food processor to obtain coarsely chopped nuts. Set them aside while you make the meringue.
The meringue has its humble beginnings in egg whites. With the help of your stand mixer and the whisk attachment, it only takes about 10 minutes to get your 4 egg whites whipped up into stiff glossy peaks.
Start your mixture on low speed and as your egg whites begin to foam, add a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
Gradually add 1 cup of granulated sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Before you know it, the mixture becomes super glossy and stiff.
Gently fold in the chopped hazelnuts and almonds.
Transfer this mixture to a heat-proof bowl and place over a pot of hot, barely simmering water. Stir every few minutes or so for about 15 minutes.
Notice how the mixture appears a little darker and slightly “deflated”.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
The hazelnut and almond meringues are now ready to be baked. Portion with a medium-sized scooper in order to obtain about two dozen cookies. Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before “peeling” them off the parchment paper.
Crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle…
Tips
- The almonds and the hazelnuts can be roasted in advance and stored at room temperature until needed. This ensures the use of room-temperature ingredients until you are ready to make these nut cookies.
- Do not rush the process of adding the sugar while whisking the egg whites. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time.
- The addition of cinnamon is optional.
- If you’re a chocolate lover, feel free to add a few shavings of chocolate to make a non-traditional version.
What can I make with crushed cookies?
Crushing these cookies makes them a great garnish for grilled peaches or this strawberry ricotta dessert.
Gluten-free Christmas cookies
Recipe origins
I have previously mentioned that I would often collect newspaper clippings of recipes from the Wednesday edition of my local paper. Imagine how delighted I was when I found this ugly cookies recipe in the food section.
I have been making this Italian Hazelnut Almond Meringue for over twenty years and it has never disappointed me. Both family and friends are thrilled whenever I make this Italian cookie recipe to be part of our Christmas celebrations.
I am confident they will quickly become part of the best Christmas cookie recipes you bake for the holidays.
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
If you haven’t already joined, here is the link where you can sign up for my weekly e-mail newsletter. This way, you won’t miss any of my new recipes and it’s absolutely free!
Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this Brutti ma Buoni recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Recipe
Bruttiboni
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Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pure
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 1⅓ cup whole almonds toasted
- 1⅓ cup hazelnuts toasted and skins removes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Pulse almonds and hazelnuts in a food processor to obtain a coarsely ground texture. Alternatively, chop by hand. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixture), with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until they start to foam.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Add cinnamon and vanilla extract.
- Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whisk until you obtain stiff glossy peaks.
- With a mixing spoon, fold in the nuts. Gently combine.
- Transfer this mixture to a heat-proof bowl and place over a pot of hot, barely simmering water. This mixture needs to be stirred for about 15 minutes.
- Portion with a medium-sized scooper and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the tops are golden.
- Allow to cool on baking sheet.
Video
Notes
- The almonds and the hazelnuts can be roasted in advance and stored at room temperature until needed. This ensures the use of room temperature ingredients until you are ready to make these nut cookies.
- Do not rush the process of adding the sugar while whisking the egg whites. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time to the egg whites.
- The addition of cinnamon is optional.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 13, 2015 and republished on November 22, 2018 with updated content, photos and a video. Thanks for watching and sharing.
Judith
Hi,
First timer on your recipe and I see your dough is much drier than mine? I even put it in the freezer to try and thicken it but everyone spread out too much?
Where did I go wrong?
Thanks,
jp
Maria
Thanks for your interest Judith. There are 2 critical points. The first is adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time and beating it properly. The second is the time spent in the double boiler. If the cookies spread out too much my guess is that the mixture was still too wet. Try increasing the time in the double boiler. Hope this helps ♥
Michael
Dear Maria,
I was making rum cherry ice cream today and usually make meringue cookies from the leftover egg whites. I was searching for something different to do with them and came across these cookies– thank you so much for taking the time to post this wonderful recipe and the well constructed instructions. These will be the only cookies with my egg whites from this day forward, you are a gem.
Maria
How wonderful Michael! I am so thrilled to read this. Thanks so much for taking the time t comment, appreciate it!
Bonnie
These are life changing, so glad I found this recipe. I let the cookies cool in the oven like a traditional meringue to give the exterior a good crack and more stability. These are definitely being added to my recipe book to become a go to in the future. So easy and rewarding. Thank you!
Maria
So thrilled to read this! That is a great idea Bonnie! Thanks so much for taking the time to share, appreciate it!
Mary Coughlan
I’m so excited to have found this recipe. My daughter went to Northern Italy with friends and one friend had an aunt there who owns a bakery. She brought home these wonderful ‘bruttimabuoni’ wrapped in a pretty pink paper with the bakery name on it. I’m making these for Christmas from now on.
Maria
Thank you so much for sharing Mary, enjoy!
carol
I used to buy similar cookies at the Jean Talon market and I am looking forward to baking my own. I’m a fan of anything Italian like Pizzelle and biscotti. Now I ll have these to add to my gift giving habits.
Maria
Thanks Carol, enjoy!
Josephine Fusco
These are simply amazing and so delicious!! Thank you for this perfect recipe !!
Maria
My pleasure Josephine! Buon Natale!
Joan
Hi Maria, I made them and are just amazing, but very flat like a pan cake what’s your secret?
Please tell me why….?
Maria
I’m sorry to hear they did not expand properly… Let me see if I can help… did you get glossy egg whites when you finished adding the sugar? Perhaps the mixture was still too “wet” after spending 15 minutes in the double boiler?
Margaret
Hi Maria:
I made them. So so light and delicious. I used the combination of hazelnuts and almonds and that roasted nut flavor comes through with every bite. Next time I will not grind the nuts so fine and remember to keep them chunkier (my bad). They were a little flatter than they should have been as a result but the taste was not compromised. They remind me of torrone.
Maria
Thanks for sharing Margaret. So glad you enjoyed these wonderful little morsels.
Cali
Wow! These came out even better than I anticipated! I will be making these again for everyone I know as soon as we’re out of quarantine.
For anyone debating if they should try this recipe, believe me you can’t mess it up. Granted, mine were slightly different than the ones my Sicilian aunt makes because I had a few bumps in the road but they still turned out to be crunchy, chewy, nutty goodness. My husband who’s not a big sweets guy approved and even likened them to Rochers! I’m planning to dip some in chocolate and can’t wait to try them. I agree you could also crumble these into anything for a decadent treat.
Mistakes I made.. eggs never become frothy with stiff peaks (thinking maybe some yolk mixed in) but I chugged on. I also only had about 3/4 of the vanilla extract so I made up for the difference with almond extract and it wasn’t game changing.
Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Maria
My pleasure Cali! Thanks so much for taking the time to share, appreciate it!
Chris
Is it possible to freeze the dough uncooked? I was thinking of making a large batch of dough and freezing it and simply baking a few cookies at a time when I feel like it. Do you think the dough would hold well in the freezer?
Maria
I’ve never tried Chris. But I can tell you that I freeze them all the time and no one can ever tell. Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it.
Tracey
Yum! and addictive. Super easy to make. Sandwich two together with chocolate gelato for a delicious ice cream sandwich! !
Maria
What a great idea Tracey! Thanks for sharing!
Rosanna Condina
I made them and they are sooo delish!
Can l freeze them and will they still be chewy when defrosted?
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Maria
Yes, I freeze them all the time. I would say the texture is more on the crispy side but it is still a wonderful cookie. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, appreciate it!