zia concetta’s 10 egg cookies

This recipe was taken from the archives, courtesy of Nonnina’s cousin Dolores. Zia Concetta was Nonnina’s Aunt (Nonna Fiora’s sister-in-law). These cookies are famous on Nonnina’s side of the family. Like many others before, they have been making these cookies for generations, this one in particular has been made for 80+ YEARS! Zia Concetta taught Nonna Fiora to make these cookies when they settled in Canada after emigrating from Italy. She used to call these the “10 Egg Cookies” or in Italian “Biscotti di 10 Ove”.

This is a basic and very versatile drop cookie recipe that Zia made batches of every week. The kids would eat these for breakfast or as a snack when they came home from school. There was always a batch of these in the kitchen. She would use the basic recipe to make drop cookies, rolled in icing sugar. She then adapted it and would add more flour to make it into a log shape, double baking for a biscotti type cookie. If she was feeling particularly generous or creative that day, she would add chocolate or nuts. Making this the perfect snack to satisfy those sweet cravings before and after dinner!

Ingredients:

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

  • 10 eggs (we used medium eggs) Note: if you use larger eggs you will need to adjust the flour quantity

  • 20 TBSP of oil

  • 20 TBSP sugar (about 1 1/2 Cups)

  • 24 oz of roasted almonds that have been ground (approx. 3 cups)

  • 8 oz (squares) semi-sweet chocolate cut up in to small pieces

  • 6 TSP of baking powder

  • juice of one lemon

  • Flour (Zia would say use "la farina che si prende" or “the flour the recipe takes”. See quantity below)

    • For Drop Cookies: 4.5 Cups

    • For Biscotti: 5 - 5.5 Cups

  • Icing Sugar for decoration

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F

  2. Prepare all ingredients. Chop up the chocolate and grind up the roasted nuts.

  3. In a mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs, sugar and lemon juice and mix until well combined

  4. Add ground nuts and chocolate to the wet mixture.

  5. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder together an then begin slowly adding to the wet mixture.

  6. To make the drop cookies: Fill a small bowl with icing sugar. Drop and roll about 1 tsp of dough into icing sugar and roll it. Place on cookie sheet.

  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Skip these steps if you are making biscotti.

  8. To make the biscotti: Add another 1/2 - 1 cup of flour to the base mixture. Check on the batter as you gradually add the additional flour to get a consistency that you can roll in to a log.

  9. Once rolled into a log, pat it down to flatten it a little bit.

  10. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

  11. Let cool for 10 minutes and then slice cookies about half an inch thick.

  12. Lay them on a cookie sheet and put them back in the oven to bake for approx. 20 minutes until golden and crispy.

Buon Apetito!

With Love From, Nonnina!