Chocolate-Almond Cookies (Strazzate)
These traditional crumbly cookies from the Basilicata region of Italy are flavored with Strega, an Italian herbal liqueur. Alternatively, use Galliano, which can be found in most liquor stores.
Credit: Landon Nordeman
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, for greasing½ tsp. baking powder
1 ¾ cups finely ground, plus 2 tbsp. roughly chopped, almonds
1 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. chocolate chips
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup Strega or Galliano liqueur
⅓ cup coffee, at room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease 2 parchment-lined baking sheets with butter and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together baking powder and 1 tbsp. lukewarm water until dissolved, 20 seconds.2. Combine ground and chopped almonds, flour, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, oil, and salt in a large bowl. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir in the baking powder mixture, liqueur, and coffee to form a wet dough.
3. Divide the dough into 1-oz. portions. Using your hands, roll dough portions into balls and transfer to prepared baking sheets spaced about 1-inch apart. Bake until set, about 30 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and let cool to firm before serving.
 Recipe - Saveur.com){kind=link}
Overall, they had a nice chewy texture and the Strega, while seemingly overpowering, added a nice herbal touch.
Cooked first batch as long as stated & found them hard, a little over-done. Second batch was better.
Like the flavor a lot but wish they were lighter. I've never used this baking powder/water technique before. Maybe adding 2 frothy eggwhites to the dough would make them lighter?