Baked Churros

l'America era un angolo, l'America era un'ombra, nebbia sottile,
l'America era un'ernia, un gioco di quei tanti che fa la vita...

America was a corner, America was a shadow, a fine mist,
America was a hernia, a game of the many that life plays...
~ Francesco Guccini, Amerigo

He was selling churros with cinnamon from a cart on 16th Str., behind the stairs at the exit of the subway; his name was Francisco but for his friends and in the neighborhood and he was only and ever Pancho. He was as old as Jesus, black hair over the shoulders and hands stained with sugar and fatigue. He spoke slowly in a language foreign to him, masking his stubborn and unyielding southern accent against his will. His underground America was that street corner, a t-shirt Yes We Can, and a dream never faded.
He was a sinner, an innocent outlaw with his breath always on the alert: his mistake without fault was to be born beyond, in a country with no moon, torn apart by knives, white powder and misery.
He had arrived at night, clinging to the dark wind of a train still in the running. They say he had a girl, too young to still remember him, too beautiful to stop loving her. He had left behind his heart in love, closed his eyes to the sadness and left for his quest.
He ended up in the city that bore his name, greeting and hope for a better future, witness and accomplice of a present without glory. 12 hours a day, 300 churros at sunset and one Sunday for beer and freedom every month.

TWO FOR $ 1.
TWO FOR $ 1.

A hand-written sign was selling his sweetness for him, filled with memories and the warm scent of melancholy. A handshake, a smile, a buenos dias: two churros to the gluttons for a dollar of his youth.
He was always there, Pancho, smiling and generous in front of us who asked no questions. He was always there, safe and cozy, with his eyes fixed on the future.
Until one morning when we couldn't find him anymore: they say they were stationed, an unhappy call, the forced supervision of a mockery of fate.
Everybody liked him, them also, Francisco Pancho Juarez, Francisco Pancho fabricante de churros.




Baked Churros
for approx. 15 pieces

flour 140 gr
sugar 50 gr
butter 100 gr
salt 1 pinch
water 200 gr
egg 1
vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon
sugar and cinnamon to finish as needed

Heat water with salt and then dissolve in the sugar. Add butter and when it's completely melted, add flour and mix. Cook until the dough is smooth and has no lumps, and gathers into a shiny ball (it'll take about 1 minute). Remove from heat and let cool. Add the egg, at room temperature, vanilla extract and mix well.
Put the dough into a pastry bag with a star tip, form several strips about 3-4" long and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until churros are golden.
Roll them still hot in sugar mixed with cinnamon.
Churros, traditional Mexican sweets, should be fried in hot oil; this is my so-called light version.
Light but not vegan, for the first sin of the year.

Baci di Dama

Baci di Dama (literally, Lady's Kisses) are delicious, so small, elegant and fragrant. But they're as seductive as deceiving. Flattening in the oven is their specialty, no matter how nice and neat, round and perfect they look on the baking sheet. What a fool you are! You've even measured them with a fruit scoop in order to have them all the same size, you thought you'd given them an impeccable shape, handling them with love between your hands while focusing on the perfect roundness of the sun, a Christmas ornament or a cherry.

And their fragrance! Even that is mean. A strong hazelnut scent spreads throughout the house, it doesn't let you foresee anything, even your neighbors are alerting their senses. Yes, it's that good. I think it's really time to open the oven. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You scream out of despair, you tear your hair out, you look incredulous. That's it...I quit....Yes, tomorrow the girl is shutting down her kitchen and she's going to be an hermit in Alaska, for a new blog-free decade.
The Lady's Kiss, the same one you devoted your last culinary afternoon of 2009, has become a whole shapeless layer, a giant hazelnut-tasting platform that along with the cookie has smashed away all your hunger for fame. And now what am I supposed to do with this huge Kiss and all that Nutella-like Spread? A large chocolate-covered pizza, flat and hazelnutty? An almond flying saucer? A New-Age sbrisolona (Italian flat, crumbly cake, made with almonds)? No, Alaska seems to be the best option. New year, new life.

But luckily, as expected, even this year all your great resolutions vanish quickly, this time already at January first dawn. New year, same old routine. Do stretching exercises, make less cookies, be on time, don't swear, go to bed early, do yoga, drink a half gallon of water every day: who do you think you are? To me, nothing has changed: today I missed my yoga class in order to make the Lady's Kisses one more time, I shouted unrepeatable words against the oven so that it wouldn't dare playing tricks on me, I missed the bus and for sure I'll go to sleep at 4am to publish this post, I arrived late at a dinner with a friend 'cause I had to photograph the little evils before giving them as a gift, I've drunk the usual bottomless cup of coffee at Starbucks and half a sip of water the whole day, and I gave up on Alaska. It's too cold anyways.

So may this 2010 be a year full of the usual things, all the ones that make your day rosy, the scent of hazelnuts roasting in the oven, a phone call from a friend, a song by the Beatles, a slice of bread with jam, a Sunday afternoon at the movies, a trip to the countryside, fresh snow, end-of-season sales, the kisses from your elegant ladies or your sweet-smelling gentlemen, depending on your taste. Amen.


Baci di Dama
for about 40-50 cookies

hazelnuts 100 gr.
almonds 100 gr.
butter 200 gr.
flour 200 gr.
sugar 160 gr.
egg yolk 1
salt 1 pinch
dark chocolate for the filling to taste

Toast almonds and hazelnuts in the oven. Let them cool off, then try to eliminate their outer skin as much as possible. Grind them finely in the mixer with a little bit of sugar (taken from the whole amount), to prevent them releasing the oil.
Mix sugar and cold butter, then add flour, ground almond-hazelnut mixture, egg yolk and salt, and work the dough quickly until it's smooth. Shape it into a ball, cover with plastic and let it rest in the fridge for few hours or overnight (it keeps well even for few days).
After this time, take the dough out of the fridge and form small balls approximately the size of a cherry. Place them slightly apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. To avoid the Lady's Kisses flattening disaster when baking them, after you've shaped the balls, let them rest in the fridge for about half hour, so that they're very cold by the time you put them in the oven.
Bake at medium-low temperature (220-260F) for about 20 or 30 minutes. The temperature and the baking time vary depending on the oven. It's better to keep a medium-low heat (to avoid the flattening disaster) and keep watching them every ten minutes. They're ready when their surface starts breaking. As soon as they come out of the oven, they're very delicate and crumbly; therefore it's better to let them cool completely on the baking sheet before handling.
For the filling, melt some dark chocolate and use it to attach two half-cookies together. I've used the Nutella-like spread made with dark chocolate (OK, yes, I posted the one with milk chocolate, but the truth is, I made two versions, so now I have 4 jars of chocolate spread...!!).
Short parenthesis: Lady's Kisses can be also made with hazelnuts only or almonds only, or you can add some cocoa powder to the dough and fill them with white chocolate instead. The main ingredients - butter, nuts, flour and sugar - should be used in the same weight amount; I've used less sugar because I like them better less sweet.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't made chocolate chip cookies since college. To be honest, I wasn't actually making them at that time either, because my friend Sarah, a genuine American, was usually in charge of baking them for a bunch of hungry people who - who knows why - would always manage to answer the call. Cookie calling, friend coming. It's the unwritten, always effective rule.

Still the same friend tought me that in order to fully enjoy the cookie, you have to grab one right out of the oven, when the chocolate is practically melted and the cookie is still warm and soft, put it in a glass, cover it with milk, stir and go. You can repeat the process with the second batch, and for those of you who have a strong stomach, even with the third or fourth. You know the deal.

And the same friend, who obviously knows what she's talking about, told me that another must-do of the Operation Cookie is making the dough and eat it raw by the spoonful. And this is such a popular habit that some famous ice-cream manufacturers, such as Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's, began selling a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavour. It's like a star-and-stripe version of our Stracciatella.

This recipe comes once again from that place in Berkeley I already told you about, a mix between an artisan egg-pasta shop, a bakery and a coffe shop/breakfast place. It's slightly different from more traditional recipes because of the amount of nuts and the rolled oats, which give the cookies a characteristic texture and create the illusion of a healthy snack. Don't worry though, these are neither healthy nor light, especially if you eat the dough raw or if you melt them in a big glass of milk when they're still warm.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
for approximately 30 cookies

butter, at room temperature 225 gr.
sugar 160 gr.
brown sugar 160 gr.
vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
eggs 2
all-purpose flour 290 gr.
rolled oats 110 gr.
(of which 35 gr. need to be finely ground)
baking powder 1 teaspoon
pinch of salt
pecan 170 gr.
chocolate chips 350 gr.

Cream butter with sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift flour with baking powder and add it to the dough. Add ground oats and salt and mix well. At the end, add the remaining rolled oats, chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
Refrigerate the dough until cold (you can also make it two or three days in advance).
Form small balls, a bit larger than a walnut shell, press them slightly between your hands, then place them about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake the cookies at 380 for about 12-15 minutes, until they turn golden-brown. Right out of the oven, they will be very soft, but they turn crunchy once they cool down.