Brutti ma Buoni (‘Ugly but Good’ Cookies)

Only three ingredients — that’s all you need to prepare Brutti ma Buoni. A classic Italian cookie that’s bound to be a family favorite.  Trust me; one cookie will not be enough! 

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Its literal translation is ‘Ugly but Good,’ referring to how it looks and tastes.  I don’t know about you, but I could’ve sworn I’ve seen uglier cookies in my time. 😀

But good? That’s an understatement. They’re basically hazelnut meringue cookies — and they’re light, delicious, and arguably one of the easiest Italian cookies to make.

You don’t believe me?  Then you better try it yourself ASAP.

Ingredients

• Hazelnuts – whole hazelnuts; no need to blanch or toast them.

• Sugar – regular white sugar is excellent for this brutti ma buoni recipe.

• Eggs – at room temperature, and you would only be using the egg whites.

For your reference, I used three medium eggs for this recipe — which is about 63 to 73 grams each.

Preparation

Start by combining hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor (photo 1).

Pulse until you get a sand-like texture (photo 2).

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites into a stiff peak (photo 3).

Transfer the hazelnuts and sugar mixture into a medium-sized saucepan and place over low heat.

Take a third of the beaten egg whites and fold with the hazelnuts and sugar (photo 4).

Fold the rest of the egg whites and combine (photo 5).

Keep cooking over low heat until the batter thickens; it generally takes about thirty minutes of constant mixing (photo 6).

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

To form your hazelnut and meringue cookies, take a teaspoon and a half of the cookie batter and place it on top of a baking tray lined with a baking sheet.

Keep some space between the cookies to allow for their expansion once in the oven (photo 7).

Place your ugly but good cookies in the oven for about thirty minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. You should be able to just pick them up, no need for a metal spatula to do this.

Dust the brutti ma buoni cookies with powdered sugar, if you prefer.

Serve.

Helpful tips

• Do not over-process the hazelnuts and sugar.  If you do, you will end up with hazelnut paste instead — totally unusable for this ugly but good cookie recipe.

• It is better to use a nonstick saucepan when cooking the batter because it will stick to the pan’s sides and bottom.

• Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix the batter.

• Keep the heat low when cooking the batter on the stovetop.

• When transferring the hazelnut and meringue cookies into a cooling rack, make sure you handle them gently — do not squeeze them either.

Recipe Variation

• Toasted hazelnuts. You can either toast them or blanch them to remove the skins; both are quite common.  I prefer not to do either because the skin’s slight bitterness is an excellent contrast to the sweetness from the sugar (just my opinion 🙂 ).

• Orange zest. Yep, you can add these to the cookie batter as well.

• Other kinds of nuts.  Depending on the region of Italy, some use almonds or walnuts instead.  But if you’re in Piemonte, it’s got to be hazelnuts (because they’ve got the best ones!).

FAQs

• HOW CAN I TELL THAT THE COOKIE BATTER IS READY FOR BAKING?

Aside from the thick consistency, you will see that the batter is pulling away from the saucepan’s sides when you mix it, and you will no longer see any liquid in the bottom of the pan.

• HOW LONG CAN I STORE THEM?

These hazelnut and meringue cookies should last for about a month if you keep them in an airtight container and store them in a cool place.

They look fabulous, right? So, give them a try and let me know what you think in the comment section below!