Pastry & Pasta Shop

These small cookies made from sugar, flour, eggs, and Amaretto (replacing the original almond ingredient) have a unique history. Legend has it; a baker and his fiancée gathered all of the ingredients and developed a special gift for the visiting Cardinal of Milan in the 1700s. It was a tradition to provide sweets for the Cardinal and this time was no exception. The amaretti cookies pleased the Cardinal and he soon became a regular to their bakery. The tops of amaretti are sprinkled with crystalline sugar.

Small, dry, crumbly sweet pastries that are twice-baked in the oven to remove moisture are known to Italians as biscotti. These cookie-like pastries were particularly popular among sailors due to their long shelf-lives. Biscotti often make use of fruits and nuts as aids to their flavor. Italians love to dip their biscotti in wine; flavoring and softening the cookie at the same time.

Native to Abruzzo, this waffle-like cookie that varies between crisp and crunchy or soft and chewy depending on ingredients. Traditional flavorings include anise, vanilla, and lemon zest. A pizzelle iron is used in cooking the dessert, giving it a characteristic snowflake pattern. Pizzella are commonly used to create a dessert sandwich with cannoli cream or hazelnut spread as a filling. Pizzella in Lazio are known as ferratelle and as cancelle in Molise.