Bones of the Dead cookies

Ossi dei morti ("bones of the dead") cookies are a popular Italian treat for All Saints Day.  There are as many variations on these bone cookies as there are regions in Italy! 

While traditional ossi dei morti in general are a made of a hard meringue that crackles like crunching bones, I decided to try a gentler approach.  I wanted to make a cookie that was great to snack on without needing to dunk it in my espresso.  

These super tasty bone cookies are a fun treat for Halloween too!  The basic recipe is great for kids, and I've thrown in an added twist for more refined palates. 

Step 1: Gather your Ingredients

This recipe is easy to customize, but here are the 'bare bones' (har har har) to make 3 dozen tiny cookies:

55 grams of slivered almonds (or hazelnuts, etc) (2/3 cup)
200 grams of sugar (1 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon (or orange) juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1 egg
splash of almond (or other) extract
115 grams of all purpose flour (2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon (or orange) zest
Sea salt for topping (opt.)

Comments

[AaronAdamic]

Wow, perfect halloween cookies! :))

[Tape-structable]

Looks delicious. I had some at a friends house, they were harder than I expected.

Kind of reminds me of dog treats.

[scoochmaroo]

Yes :) These aren't as hard as the traditional ones at all, which can rival biscotti. These are more of a nice cookie texture.

And I can't also help but see dog treats when I look at these simply because of the their shape.