#Tuscan Santa Claus Cookies #Befanini A few years ago, thanks to my mom, I met an elderly Tuscan lady who

made me taste these delicious cookies. She lived near a forest, in a small village near my hometown, Grosseto. She gave them to me enclosed in a beautiful glass jar. The first thing that hits you is the look of these cookies. They are of a brown that tends to red hot, warm the heart and at the same time, they bring joy with their silver beads, sugar and colored stars. In my home, every year at Christmas, these cookies are a must and my girls are starting to re uest them since a month before Christmas. I can not blame them! they know that they will not eat them again until ne"t year# And so this morning I woke u$ at %.&&, I was dying to $re$are 'befanini' and the o$$ortunity for a guest $ost has $articularly ins$ired me. So I gift them to you, as someone did with me, in an old biscuit tin glass that recalls the smells and tastes of grandmother(s larders. The second thing that will im$ress you is the taste! intense and regenerating as a glass of mulled wine# They(re no short to $re$are, so I can(t make them with you, during my cooking classes in Tuscany, but you can $re$are the dough before, maybe free)ing it. And then, once tasted, you will not let them anymore, my word. *erry Christmas to all and may you shine like the beads on these ama)ing cookies# #Tuscan Santa Claus Cookies #Befanini Recipe by Erika Elia Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 30 minutes Total time: 2 30 hours !iel": # ser$in%s &n%re"ients ' ()2 o* honey + o* bro,n su%ar # o* no salt butter ' tbsp milk 3 "rops almon" oil (' o* flour ' o* potato flour 2 tbsp cocoa ( tbsp cinnamon ()2 tsp nutme% ()2 tbsp %in%er po,"er 2 tsp bakin% po,"er # o* $anilla su%ar 2 tbsp lemon -uice

Cookin% .irections (/ Slo,ly melt honey su%ar butter an" milk/ 0et cool/

2/ 1"" almon" oil cinnamon nutme% %in%er potato starch flour cocoa an" lastly bakin% po,"er2 thorou%hly mi3 to obtain a homo%eneous mi3ture/ 3/ Put in the fri"%e for about an hour/ '/ Roll out the "ou%h o$er a ,ell4floure" surface an" try to obtain a thickness of about half cm/ #/ 5a$e fun ,ith the mol"s for cookies 6hearts stars Christmas trees etc/7/ 8/ Put in o$en at '00 9 : for about (# minutes/ Remo$e the cookies from the o$en an" place them on a surface ,here it circulates a little ;air/ 7. <ait for it to cool "o,n an" then start the ,ork of "ecoration/!ou can sprinkle the cookies ,ith %in%er before cookin% them/ =/ To "ecorate: smarties su%ar starlets sil$er bea"s momperi%lia pine nuts can"ies/// >/ To fi3: melt $anilla su%ar ,ith lemon -uice stir ,ell until you %et the consistency of a %lue/