Would it be possible to reduce the sugar here?

S

shaun-in-to

Well-known member
I just made Chewy Nut Cookies Covered in Pine Nuts (Pinolate) from Carol Field's "The Italian Baker." Though delicious and nutty -- they are basically meringue cookies, almond hazelnut pastes (each one just nuts, sugar, and egg white) rolled in pine nuts -- I found them way too sweet. (Bizarre, I know, for a lover of marzipan.)

I want to make them again, but I don't know how much I could reduce the sugar without compromising texture. (I'm not concerned about sugar's effect on colour.) Would anyone cut it by a quarter? A third? Do I hear a half?

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/2/5280

 
In addition to adjusting, could you double or triple the eggwhites?

I have a few Italian cookbooks at home. I could see what if there is a similar recipe and what ratios they used.

Just looked at the recipe...Wow...that's a HUGE amount of sugar.

I also just checked a basic recipe to make almond paste. It's a 1:1 ratio of ground almonds (100 g) to sugar (100 g) with 1 eggwhite.

The first part of your recipe has 200 grams of ground nuts to 350 grams of sugar. I'll bet you could cut it down to 200 grams.

All this is just a guess, mind you. I've got about 3 minutes before I have to run back to class.

You might consider making a scaled-down version so ingredients aren't wasted. You could then taste for sweetness and adjust if more eggwhites can be successfully incorporated.

 
No, unfortunately, because then the dough is too liquidy to shape into balls. (I already

had to toss the first almond paste I made because I used the number of whites it called for, which was too much). But thanks for the advice about the amount of sugar to try. I wasn't sure if there was a rule of thumb.

 
But does the sugar have a function beyond flavor? Could I theoretically make a meringue without

sugar, or with a bare minimum, and have the same consistency if the only other ingredients are nuts and egg whites?

 
Shaun, this recipe doesn't appear to be a meringue at all---just a stiff dough. so I think reducing

sugar would be OK, unless I'm not readidng the recipe correctly. I would start by reducing both parts of the "paste" by 1/2 cup each. If it appears too loose, I would add a bit more of the ground nuts.

 
I would think the sugar adds a browning effect to the protein. I check my books

we're out of luck. All the biscotti have a bunch of flour and the only thing with nuts but not much flour is an Amaretti recipe:

3/4 C blanched almonds
1 C conf sugar
1 Tbl flour
2 egg whites
1/4 C superfine sugar
1 tsp almond extract.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top