Brutti ma Buoni – A Vegan Version

I have an Italian cookie obsession. I don’t try to hide it. I just accept this personality trait and try – sometimes with a great deal of effort – to not allow the obsession to turn into something completely uncontrollable.

This issue began during my time living and working in Northern Italy – especially the Piedmont region where food (and cookies) are taken very seriously. I had the opportunity to learn from one of the finest pastry chefs in Italy at that time.  He taught me the secret of one of the region’s most popular cookies – Brutti ma Buoni

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I have an Italian cookie obsession. I don’t try to hide it. I just accept this personality trait and try – sometimes with a great deal of effort – to not allow the obsession to turn into something completely uncontrollable.

This issue began during my time living and working in Northern Italy – especially the Piedmont region where food (and cookies) are taken very seriously. I had the opportunity to learn from one of the finest pastry chefs in Italy at that time.  He taught me the secret of one of the region’s most popular cookies – Brutti ma Buoni (literally ugly but good). These delicious cookies are generally made with a scant 3 main ingredients: hazelnuts, sugar and egg whites.

I tried a few different methods using aquafaba to attempt a vegan version. After a few failed efforts, I finally landed on a particular way to create my vegan version…and I would challenge anyone to see if they could tell the difference.

Yield: makes about 24 ugly cookies