Sbrisolona Cookies and a Tea Lover's Advent Calendar

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The holiday season is creeping up on us quickly!  Not only do I have a gift idea for those of you who are tea lovers or for friends and family who love tea, but I also have a delicious new cookie recipe for you!  

This lovely Adagio Tea Advent Calendar is available for purchase now!  You want to order quickly so you can open the first door and enjoy your first tea surprise on December 1st!  This is not a paid post. I received this calendar from Adagio Teas in order to review their lovely Advent Calendar again this year.  I'm very grateful as I love tea!  Thank you, Adagio Teas! 

24 Festive tea blends of tea to savor before Christmas Day are available in either lovely pyramid tea bags or as loose tea.  You may pick which you prefer when you order. 

You may be wondering what Sbrisolona Cookies are.  They are the most delicious, crunchy, crumbly, shortbread-like cookie made with almond flour and chopped almonds!  Usually called Torta Sbrisolona, because it made in one large piece, it normally contains fine corn meal and broken into rough pieces. There are many different variations!  I found a wonderful recipe which did not include corn meal and was cut into wedges, which I adapted and and absolutely loved.  I will definitely be making these again and again and will most likely show up on my Christmas cookie tray.  

The first time I tasted Sbrisolona was at a lovely Italian Restaurant in our area called Ca' Lucchenzo.  They were served along with a glass of Vin Santo sweet wine at the end of dinner but they are equally delicious any time of day...and especially with tea or coffee!  I decided to enjoy them with one of the teas from the Adagio Tea Advent Calendar.  

Ooops!  I've given away one of the teas included in the Advent Calendar! 😉 It's called Blueberry White Tea. It was absolutely delicious.  Just a hint of blueberry flavor and the white tea blend was very good and so refreshing.  I love their pyramid tea bags.  

Order your 2023 Advent Tea Calendar from Adagio Teas by clicking on the link Tea Advent Calendar and I hope you try making Sbrisolona Cookies! 

Sbrisolona Cookies

Printable Recipe

Makes 12  servings

Equipment: 9-inch square pan lined with parchment or a 9-inch springform or tart pan with removable bottom.  👉 If you wish your cookies to be even more crispy, use a slightly larger pan.  

1 ½ cups all purpose flour (270 grams) 👉 I used White Lily White Baking Flour

1 ½ cups almond flour (160 grams)

1 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 👉I used salted butter and reduced the salt by half

½ cup whole almonds, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 large egg

½ teaspoon almond extract 

1/2 vanilla bean, scraped, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Topping:

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds (or decorate with whole almonds)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). 

Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper with the parchment overlaping the sides (to use as a handle to lift out the cookie) 👉 Photo Below. Or, grease a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan or a tart pan with a removable bottom. 

I used a food processor to coarsely chop the whole almonds and then finished chopping them to get the size I wanted (about the size of large diamonds) on a cutting board with a chef's knife.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Mix well to combine. 

Add the cold butter cubes to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or two knifes, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The butter should be well distributed throughout the mixture, and be about the size of peas or smaller.  Stir the roughly chopped almonds and lemon zest into the crumbly mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, almond extract and scraped insides of vanilla bean (or vanilla extract) together. Pour egg mixture over the dry ingredients. Using your hands, or a large fork, gently mix and press the mixture together until it begin to come together. Do not to overwork the dough; it should still be quite crumbly.

Transfer the crumbly dough into the prepared pan. Press it down firmly and evenly to form an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a tablespoon of granulated sugar over the top and press in coarsely chopped almonds.  I used a smaller square pan to press down on the mixture (covered with another piece of parchment paper) in order to get it evenly distributed in the pan. 

Bake the sbrisolona in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. The center may still be slightly soft, but it will firm up as it cools.

Remove the sbrisolona from the oven and let it cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the pan.  You may cut it or break it into pieces after it has cooled.  

👉 If the cut cookies lose their crispiness, put them on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes, as you would second-bake biscotti.  After they cool they will be nice and crispy again!

Cookies may be stored in a container at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.  

Recipe adapted from This Italian Kitchen