Spumetti (Hazelnut Meringues)

Hazelnut Meringues

(“Spumetti” or “Little Foamies”)

Adapted from Nick Malgieri (who adapted these from Richard Sax)

By Blue Heron Kitchen

Any formal training I have, I attribute to Peter Kump’s cooking school. Nick Malgieri steered the pastry department and mentored my teacher, with whom I opened a wholesale bakery. I never took a class with Nick, but he was always around. I once heard him gossiping about Maida Heatter. He intimated that she’d hit bottom because she published a cookie book. It wasn’t too long after that his (great) cookie book came out. Why will I never forget this?

Nick’s published recipes are reliable; but all of his recipes at Kump’s were perfect. More, I learned what I consider a wonderful ‘method’. When Peter Kump died, the school closed, relocated to the Flatiron district and re-opened under new management and name, “ICE”, the Institute of Culinary Education. I’ve never taken a class there, but many of the instructors are still the same and Nick is still head of the Pastry division. Check it out if you’re interested in “pro”, “avo” or just a single class. You’ll receive excellent instruction.

This recipe comes from his “Cookies Unlimited” book. These are perfect for your Easter dessert table. If you’re unorthodox about Passover ingredients, and can live with using 10X (confectioner’s) sugar, these are a nice change from the ‘same old’ macaroons. They’re a mixture of chocolate, cinnamon and hazelnut. Meringenius.

When they emerge from the oven, the texture is sponge-like (“little foamies”.)  As they set up, they don’t stay sponge-like. The cocoa/cinnamon will bitter if they're too well done, so don't over-bake them, thinking they'll set up better and "de-sponge" if you bake them longer. They won't. They'll bitter-up.

And don’t be deceived by the cartoonish name. Little foamies are for grown-ups.

Avere una dolce primavera, una felice Pasqua e una dolce Pesach.

peace and love,

jane

Ingredients:

6 oz. hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed

1 cup 10X (confectioners’) sugar

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Valrhona.)

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon (make sure it’s fresh!)

3 egg whites, size large, room temperature

pinch of kosher salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. Rack in upper and lower third of oven.

If you need to skin the hazelnuts, place on jelly roll pan and toast them for 5-8 minutes until skins are brown. Put hazelnuts in a rough tea towel and rub them rigorously. The skins will come away from the nuts. Any skins that don’t – don’t sweat it.

Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Coarsely chop hazelnuts. You can use a food processor. Or you can do this by hand. I have a hand nut grinder and grind them on the “coarse” setting.

Sift together: ¼ cup of the 10X sugar, the cinnamon and the cocoa powder and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (Take care that there is no fat in the bowl or on the whisk, or your whites won’t come up to a meringue. Similarly, if any yolk comes into the white when you separate your eggs, dump that egg. It will ruin the meringue.) beat the three egg whites until foamy. Add a pinch of salt (be generous) and continue to beat until they begin to stiffen.

One tablespoon at a time, add the remaining ¾ of a cup of 10X until you have a stiff meringue.

Remove from the stand and by hand, fold in the sifted mixture of 10X, cocoa and cinnamon until fully incorporated. Be patient.

Fold in the hazelnuts.

By tablespoonful, drop onto cookie sheets.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, half way through, rotate sheets, top to bottom, front to back.

These will still be soft and spongy when you remove them from the oven.

Cool completely and then store the macaroons between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in a container with a tight fitting cover.

Yield: approx. 30 cookies