| Using a robot mixer, finely grind all of the cookies and amaretti and place in a very large mixing bowl. Finely grind both the almonds and the figs and add to the cookie powder in the bowl. (The damp figs may clump together, just rub the clumps into the dry ingredients to break it up.) Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and whole pine nuts to the ground ingredients and toss until completely blended. Pour the egg whites and the vin santo or dessert wine over the dry ingredients and blend until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape out onto a floured work surface and knead quickly until it you have a smooth, well-blended ball of cookie dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper. Slice the ball of dough in half and then each half into about a dozen even pieces, each weighing about 3-3 1/2 oz (90-100 g). Shape each piece into a lozenge, long and flat, approximately 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 inches (12-14 cm) long and approximately 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) wide, wide in the middle narrowing to a point at each end. Place the lozenge-shaped cookies on the baking sheet leaving a little space between each. Bake for 35-30 minutes until slightly puffed, a dull brown color and set. Lift one up carefully and check that the bottom side looks cooked. Do not overbake or the burned edges will be too hard. Remove the cookies to cooling racks and allow the cookies to cool completely. Once cooled, sift powdered/confectioner's sugar generously to cover the cookies. These cookies are best eaten fresh, the day baked although they keep well for several days. They are dense, chewy, moist cookies with the crackle of the ground cookies and the crunch of the pine nuts to remind us of dead men's bones. Said to be based on an ancient Etruscan recipe, this particular recipe is a specialty of the Lombardia region of Italy. |
