THE ugly but good they are “poor” sweets, made with meringue and hazelnut grains, originating in the Novara area and widespread throughout Italy with regional variations, all delicious and to be discovered. They owe their name uneven appearance, a little raw, ugly indeed, but also with a unique, delicate but intense flavor. With a light and crumbly consistency, they literally melt in the mouth, just like a meringue, and then surprise upon contact with the hazelnut grain that crowns the magnificent sensation of genuine goodness that these biscuits offer. As for their nutritional value, they have an absolutely balanced intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, a biscuit counts about 70/75 kilocalories. Preparation is very easy, fast and cost-effective. In fact, sugar, eggs and hazelnuts will be enough for get about 30 ugly but good to be enjoyed at home with the family, accompanied by a tea, a glass of raisin wine or a hot chocolate, or to be wrapped and given to friends and relatives. Just like other traditional products, such as Cantucci or Gingerbread, even the ugly but good ones can be kept in the pantry for up to 7/8 days.

Preparation

1

Turn on the static oven at 140 °

2

Weigh the egg whites and place them in a high-sided bowl.

3

Beat the egg whites perfectly until stiff for at least 5 minutes, with an electric mixer at high speed.

4

You will need to get a white and thick foam, add the sugar and vanilla.

5

Keep whipping until you get a very firm meringue (by turning the bowl upside down, the whipped egg whites should not move, this indicates that they have been whipped correctly) and shiny, it will take another 2 minutes.

6

With a blender chop the hazelnuts coarsely.

7

Add the hazelnuts to the meringue.

8

Gently mix with a spatula from the bottom up to avoid disassembling the mixture.

9

Arrange some baking paper on a baking sheet and take 1 tablespoon of dough.

10

With the help of another spoon, let the pile slide into the pan.

11

Arrange many tufts until the dough is finished, they will be about 30.

12

Bake at 140 ° for about 30 minutes in the middle of the oven.

13

When the biscuits start to brown, turn them down to 110 °

14

Continue cooking for another 50 minutes, until they dry inside. Cooking depends a lot on the size of the poured dough. The tufts prepared in the recipe are about 5 cm. Then let it cool out of the oven.

Accessories

• oven
• weight scale
• high-sided bowl
• electric mixer
• mixer
• spatula

Tips and hints

THE ugly but good they can also be tasted with the addition of a pinch of cinnamon in the dough.

If you use a convection oven, the time remains the same, lower the initial temperature to 130 °, and then cook at 100 ° for the 50 minutes required by the recipe.

storage

It is advisable to keep the ugly but good in a tin boxin a dry and sheltered place.