18 Dec 08 Tetu Cookie Recipe

Tetù are delicious Sicilian coffee chocolate spice cookies not to be confused with Têtu which is a French gay magazine. This recipe is my grandparents’ that has been passed down from parent to child and was brought with them from Sicily. As my grandmother always says “Chisti sugnu di paesi mé!” The cookies are spicy, and rich. They have a unique dark colour and are the perfect size for dipping in coffee. They are the quintessential traditional Sicilian Christmas cookie.

The recipe requires:

• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 Cup of Shortening or 1/2 lb of Sweet Unsalted Softened Butter
• 3 1/2 cups of Flour, (adjust this based on consistency)
• 4 tsp of Baking Powder
• 1 cup of Sugar
• 4 tsp of Coco Powder
• 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp of Clove
• 1 tsp of Cinnamon
• 1 cup of Ground Toasted Almonds  (My nonna always warns me to never over-toast almonds, it makes them bitter!)
• 1/3 cup of Espresso

Summary: Pour 1 cup of sugar into mixing bowl. Then add four eggs and work the softened butter in. Add the remaining wet ingredients then the toasted almonds. Once they are thoroughly mixed sift in the dry ingredients working them into the mixture. Once batter is workable roll into meatball sized balls using the same technique as you would roll a meatball. Space evenly on a greased tray. Cook at 350F (175C) for 25-30 minutes. Allow to partially cool, then glaze in a mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice. Allow to finish cooling and serve.

 

Unless you’re baking a big batch, these don’t require the blender.

Pour your 1cup of Sugar into a mixing bowl:

Then add your four eggs:

Keep mixing as you add the softened butter and the wet ingredients, the coffee and the vanilla will change the colour a lot. The butter will start to seperate into lumps, don’t worry, it’s normal.

Next add the Toasted Almonds

Next sift the dry ingredients together and work the wet and dry ingredients together

Eventually it will start to work together and gain some body. They should still be easy to work with, avoid over working them.

Next take them out of the bowl and work them into Meatball shaped balls and space them on a baking tray. Roll them the same way you would roll a meatball, gently rolling the batter between your two hands until it forms into a little ball.

Bake them in an oven at 350F (175C) for 25-30 minutes. Take them out and allow them to cool. Once they are slightly cooled they can be glazed.

The glaze is made from 1/2lb of powdered sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until liquid. Then several cookies at a time and move them around in a mixing bowl full of glaze. Once they are thoroughly coated remove from the bowl and allow to completely cool.

Tetù freeze well and can stay for a very long time. We’ve packed them into freezer bags and shipped them across the country on multiple occasions for the holidays.

Tags: christmas cookies, dolce tetu, recetta tetu, sicilian christmas cookies, sicilian cookies, sicilian tetu, tetu, tetu' cookie