Brutti ma Buoni (Ugly But Good Cookies)

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I adore any dessert made with egg whites. Whether it be French macarons, amaretti, pine nut cookies, Angel Food Cake, or simple meringues, I cannot resist any of them. Brutti ma Buoni (Ugly But Good Cookies) are also included in that list of cherished desserts made with egg whites. They are utterly addictive. If you love meringue-type cookies and nuts (typically hazelnuts or almonds) then read on! After many recipe tests, I finally managed to replicate my favorite version of these iconic Italian treats. These cookies are golden, crisp & crunchy on the outside, and soft & chewy on the inside. Below, I provide a recipe for regular and chocolate Brutti ma Buoni cookies. Read on to see how to make these delectable and heavenly cookies yourself.

Brutti ma Buoni

Brutti ma Buoni cookies are rustic, simple, and delicious. They are popular throughout Italy. Their name comes from their unrefined appearance, hence ugly but good. Personally, I don’t think they’re ugly at all! As with so many popular dishes that have been around a long time, the origins of the cookie are contested. (Both Lombardy and Piedmont claim them as their own.) However, my culinary memories and experiences associate this cookie with both Tuscany and Rome which is where I love them the most. Like chocolate chip cookies, there are different styles of the cookie and everyone likes them a certain way. There are several bakeries in Rome that make Brutti ma Buoni exactly as I like them. Therefore, I had a specific goal in mind while testing the recipe. I wanted to re-create the deliciousness I’d had on my travels.

Trials and Tribulations…

In the past week, I have made 6-7 batches of these cookies. (I’ve lost count…) Although they are rather easy, I simply could not get the result that I wanted as far as color and texture. It was making me mental! I had the flavor profile that I wanted by the second batch but couldn’t get the rest right. Argh! (Although they were all wonderful and are already gone…)

The recipe that I used as my base is a very common one that I’ve seen on many Italian YouTube videos, TV shows, blogs, and websites. I haven’t the foggiest who actually created it. I adapted it to my preferences and will guide you through the process and technique of how to make them as they have a bit of a strange process.

Although you’ll see many subtle differences of Brutti ma Buoni cookies from area to area, from what I can see, there are two main types. In the first, you whip egg whites, add sugar and nuts, dollop them onto your sheet pan, and bake. You will achieve a more normal meringue type cookie that is pale on the outside and shaped like a flat, round cookie. In the second, you whip the egg whites, add the sugar, the nuts, and place the mixture into a saucepan to cook over low heat until the mixture thickens and turns a nice blond/tan color. Next, you take two spoons and take blobs of the mixture and plop them onto a sheet pan and bake. They are irregular in shape, look knobby and “ugly.” This is the version that I love and will share with you.

Practice makes perfect!

As I mentioned, this recipe and its variants were all over the place. They all had subtle differences in oven temperature, techniques, seasonings, sugar quantities, cooking times, and color results. It was amazing how different the cookies turned out during my testing from one batch to the next making little changes along the way. You should look at pictures of these cookies online. Their appearance truly does vary!

The most basic Brutti ma Buoni cookies contain egg whites, sugar (either regular or confectioner’s sugar), and nuts. (Usually, you will see hazelnuts, almonds, a combo of the two, or sometimes even walnuts.) There are also common seasonings that you can add such as vanilla, cinnamon, lemon or orange zest, ground cardamom, nutmeg and salt. In my version, I add a very generous pinch of salt and vanilla. For a chocolate version, simply add some cocoa powder. They are so good with chocolate…

The difficulty that I was having was in the phase where you cook the mixture in a saucepan. During this stage, you need to both thicken the batter and make it golden in color at the same time. When I made my batter golden, the mixture became too thick for my liking. Conversely, when I achieved the thickness I wanted, which would give me the right consistency after baking, the egg white mixture was still too white. I just couldn’t get it right! Finally, after testing it over and over again, playing with how much to whip the egg whites, the oven temperature, and how high to have the heat in my pan, I nailed it! Yippee!

Brutti ma Buoni cookies- tips for success

Nuts

For maximum flavor, you are going to want to toast the nuts. In my first batch, I was feeling lazy and neither toasted nor peeled the hazelnuts. The results were fine but a little dull. Without the contrast of the toasty nuts against the sugar, the cookie was a little one-noted and too sweet. Also, I had never peeled hazelnuts before and thought that it would be fussy and a pain. Why add an extra step? In my second batch, I did peel and toast the nuts and it created a much better flavor profile. The hazelnuts actually ended up being very easy to peel. Going forward, it will no longer be a deterrent for me! My daughter helped me out and we made a fun activity out of it. If you buy peeled and toasted nuts, you can skip this step.

I like the nuts coarsely chopped. If you are starting with whole nuts, you will need chop them by hand or in a food processor. When you chop them like this some of the nuts will be in bigger chunks and some will be finely minced. I think that the mixture of textures is great. Some people do prefer to chop the nuts very finely. The recipe is very flexible.

In Tuscany, these cookies are often made with almonds instead of hazelnuts. In my testing, I made them with all hazelnuts, all almonds, and a mixture of the two. They were all delightful. Try them all out and see what you like best! If you are using almonds, you can use blanched or regular almonds. I did not bother with peeling regular almonds. There is no need.

Egg Whites

It all came down to the egg whites when determining whether my cookies were achieving my preferred texture and color. Even though I understood the concept of how to make the cookies and watched a ton of people making them online, I couldn’t achieve what I wanted. When the batter is in the pan, it heats over low heat, slowly thickening and changing color. By thickening the batter, the cookies hold their shape and don’t spread during baking. (They do puff out a little bit.) The cookies also bake at low heat, so there isn’t a ton of browning happening in the oven. Since I couldn’t get mine to color enough in the pan, they were too pale for my liking after baking. They developed less flavor without the caramelization.

To get the result I was looking for I realized that I didn’t need to go for stiff peaks with my egg whites. That was the key. If the egg whites are beaten too much they will essentially be dryer once they hit the saucepan. Therefore, after cooking them for 10 minutes or so, the mixture was thick, but didn’t color at all. By whipping my eggs to soft peaks and keeping things a little more fluid, I was able to cook the batter for 10-12 minutes while achieving the perfect color and consistency. Yippee. For those of you that like meringue cookies all crisp with no softness in the center, you will not have to be as finicky. You can let the mixture dry out in the pan more and even bake the cookies half of the time at a higher temperature and will get a fully crisp cookie.

Oven temperature

My recipe below is tailored to how I prefer Brutti ma Buoni cookies. If you like the idea of a different consistency, try different oven temperatures and see what you like. In my oven, I bake the cookies at 150 C (300 F) for 20-25 minutes. You can raise the temperature and cook them for half of the time. If you want more chew, you can lower the temperature to 130 C (265 F) and bake them for 40-45 minutes. Play with it!

Brutti ma Buoni recipe

I hope you all enjoy the recipe! Please let me know how it goes in the comments below.

If you need to use up any egg yolks from the making of this recipe, please take a look at my Egg Yolk Ravioli. For the cookie lovers out there, please take a look at my recipe for Pizza Ebraica, a specialty from the Roman Jewish Ghetto.

Brutti ma Buoni

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Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 20-25 Minutes 20-25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 3 voted )

Ingredients

• For classic Brutti ma Buoni:
• 2 egg whites, room temperature (about 60-67 grams (2-2 1/2 oz)
• 1 extra-large pinch of fine sea salt
• 150 grams (5.25 oz/¾ cup) sugar
• 150 grams (5.25 oz) hazelnuts (See note)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or to taste
• For chocolate Brutti ma Buoni add:
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
2. Place the hazelnuts on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they are very fragrant and you can see their essential oils coming out. Take care to not let them burn. If they have skins, rub the nuts with a clean kitchen towel once they are cool enough to handle. The skins should come off easily. Let cool. Chop the nuts coarsely by hand or pulse in a food processor and set aside.
3. Turn the oven down to 150 C (300 F). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
4. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer or in a bowl with the salt. Whip the whites with the whisk attachment in the mixer or with a handheld mixer until you have soft peaks. Once you have done so, add the sugar, a little at a time. Next, if making chocolate cookies, sift in the cocoa at this time. Gently fold in the nuts in batches.
5. Next, place the mixture in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook the mixture gently for 5 minutes at this heat, stirring slowly the entire time. After 5 minutes, lower the flame to the lowest setting and stir another 5-7 minutes until the mixture has thickened and turns a beige color. You will need to stir more vigorously in the second half of the cooking time to prevent the batter from sticking. When it is ready, it will pull away from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.
6. Quickly remove the mixture into a bowl to stop the cooking. Using two large spoons, place dollops of the mixture onto the sheet pan. I make 12 large cookies but you can make them smaller. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your cookies. They will be cooked entirely on the outside but remain soft inside. They will continue to cook as they cool. Store after cooled in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Note: If buying toasted, peeled, and unsalted hazelnuts, skip the first two steps and simply chop the nuts coarsely by hand or in a food processor. You may also use almonds or walnuts in place of the hazelnuts.