America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 23, Episode 6 - Italian Sweets - full transcript

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-Today on
"America's Test Kitchen,"

Erin makes Bridget struffoli,

Jack challenges
Julia and Bridget

to a head-to-head tasting
of single-origin chocolate,

and Becky makes Julia
pistachio-spice biscotti.

It's all coming up right here on
"America's Test Kitchen."

♪♪



-Today we get a little
taste of Italy

because we're making struffoli.

It's a Neapolitan treat

that takes little balls
of fried dough,

dips them in honey,
and then forms them into shapes.

Now, it's very festive.

It's often served during
Christmas or Easter.

And Erin's here.

She's going to show us
how to make this adorable treat.

-This is a true showstopper,
Bridget.

During development, we really
relied on Annie Petito,

a coworker, and her aunt

who make this every year
for decades.

And they've really
gave us our insight



on how to streamline it
and how to make it approachable

so that anybody
can make it at home.

-Great.
-So we're going to start with

10 ounces of all-purpose
unbleached flour,

and I'm going to add
1 3/4 ounces of sugar.

So this is a very
lightly sweetened cookie dough

that we're making
because it's going to be coated

with honey in a little bit.
-Right.

-I'm gonna add
1/2 a teaspoon of table salt.

Because this is
a very sweet dessert,

we really want to balance the
sweetness by adding this salt.

And we're going to add
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

to give it a little leavener.
-Okay.

-I'm just going to
whisk this together.

Now we're gonna move on
to our eggs.

-Easy so far.
-Easy so far.

So now I'm going to add
3 whole eggs

that I'm going to lightly whisk.

Okay, so 3 eggs lightly beaten.

And next comes butter.

One of the ways
that we streamline this recipe

is that most often butter
is creamed into the dough,

and that adds little air bubbles
and helps it to kind of rise.

We found that it really wasn't
important for this recipe.

Plus, we have the baking powder
in there and we have the eggs.

So we're going to let
those do the lifting

and we're just going to add
4 tablespoons of melted butter.

Next comes
2 teaspoons of vanilla.

Now all we do is just stir
this together to form a dough.

Our dough has come together.

And now I'm going to knead it
for about 30 seconds.

That is where we want
to take it.

So, this is a part
that can be very complicated.

-Okay.
-So, a lot of recipes

have you take the dough, roll it
into a bunch of different ropes,

and then cut, you know,
a bunch of different,

like, little pieces.

It takes quite a bit of time.

So this is one of those
streamlining tips

that Annie and her aunt
shared with us.

I'm just going to cut the dough
into six pieces

that are about
three ounces each.

But I'm going to eyeball it.
You want to take a piece?

-Take a piece of dough?
-Absolutely.

-Alright.
-Take the piece of dough

and press it into
a 3x5-inch rectangle.

And sometimes this dough
can be a little tacky.

And if it ever is tacky,

you can just lightly spray
your hands with vegetable oil

and also your work surface.

Now we're going to cut it
into six equal strips.

First, I like
to divide it in half

and then cut each half
into thirds.

You can score it.

Sometimes it can be tough
to kind of see,

so I like to score it.

-These are going
to be teeny tiny.

-Teeny, tiny cookies. Yes.

-Score.
[ Chuckles ]

-So now we're going to cut them
crosswise into 10 strips.

So the reverse.
I'm going to cut this in half.

So I usually like to eyeball it.

I lop off one fifth of it,
and then I cut the rest in half

and then each half, quarters.

-Now, what happens if I don't
get it perfectly?

-It is quite alright.
-Okay.

-This is
a very forgiving recipe.

-Oh. Love it.

-Now we're just going to pick up
all these little balls

and sprinkle them on
to the parchment paper

just so that
they're not touching.

And you don't need
to roll them into balls.

So we're just going
to finish this up,

and at the end of the day,

we're going to have
360 dough balls.

It really doesn't take
much time at all.

-Especially with two people.
-Okay.

It is fry time, Bridget.
-Yes.

-Alright, so I have
2 quarts of vegetable oil

in this Dutch oven.

You need a Dutch oven
that's at least 6 quart in size.

And I have it heated
to 350 degrees.

We have
all of our little cookies,

all of our
little mini dough balls.

We want to fry them in batches.

We're going to fry
about 25 to 30 per batch.

Now I'm just going to lower
these guys into the oil

and just kind of let them
break apart a little bit.

And I'm going
to stir continuously

so that they get evenly
golden brown.

-Okay.
-Alright, it's going to take

about 3 minutes.

-Look how pretty they are.

-Aren't you mesmerized? Yeah.

So these are perfection.
-[ Chuckles ] Ah.

-I'm just going to transfer them
to my baking pan.

So, it's also important that
we maintain the oil temperature

of 350 to 360.
-Okay.

-So I'm always
taking the temperature

as we go through each batch,

and I'm just going to continue
to cook the rest of these.

And then I'm going
to let them cool completely.

-Cool completely.
-Yep. Okay.

So, we have all of our little,
tiny fried struffoli.

-Okay.

-So, I have 1 cup of honey
in a large saucepan,

and I'm just going to heat this
over medium-low heat

until bubbles start
to break through the surface

and it starts to get very hot.
-Hmm.

-And this is a very important
step here, Bridget.

Many people just take honey,
and they coat their struffoli,

but that honey
just kind of slips off.

And you really --
When you eat it,

it's very little honey.

So we want that honey to cling.

In order to do so,
we're going to heat the honey

and reduce it a little bit.

You can see a bunch of bubbles
that are breaking the surface.

-Yes. Right.

-And I'm going to take it
off the heat now.

-Okay.
-Okay?

So now goes the struffoli.

And I'm just going to stir
so that the honey in the bottom

coats the struffoli all over.

Keep them moving.

So now we're going to go back
over medium-low heat.

-Okay.
-And I'm going to cook this

for about 4 minutes.

And what that's going to do is
the honey is going to continue

to cook down,
tighten up a little bit.

It's going to cling
to our struffoli.

-Mmm. Okay.
-And it's also going to taste

a little bit more
intensely honey-like.

-Ooh. Okay.
-Yeah.

Alright, so, it has been
about 4 minutes, Bridget.

And I think you can tell
that the struffoli

are really nicely coated.

That 4 minutes, again,
is very important.

We're going to let this cool
for about 5 minutes.

This is another
very important step.

So, these have cooled
for about 5 minutes.

So, this is our serving platter.

And I'm going to
just spray this lightly

with a little bit
of vegetable spray.

-Okay.
-And this is an important step.

So now I'm just going to
take a towel, a paper towel,

and wipe most of it off,

but I'm going to
leave a thin coating

so that later on
everything releases nicely.

-Gotcha. Okay.
-Alright?

And we're going to turn this
into the shape of a wreath.

-Hm!
-So I'm going to use this glass

and I'm just going to take
my oiled paper towel.

-Zhuzh it up. Alright.
-Zhuzh it up. Okay.

We're going to start with
2 tablespoons of nonpareils.

And as I mentioned earlier,

that 5-minute cool
is very important.

Had I added these
to the hot struffoli,

all the color
would have washed off

and it would have, like, created
this rainbow effect and

really muddied up our struffoli,
so we don't want that.

So that's why the 5-minute cool
is very important.

I'm just going to stir this
so that the nonpareils

are evenly distributed
and coat the struffoli.

-Okay.
-Okay?

Next, I'm going to add

2 tablespoons
of candied orange peel.

And this is going to add
a nice citrus

kind of essence
to our whole struffoli,

and it's also going to add
a nice chew.

-Okay. Great.
-Alright? It's finely chopped.

And I'm going to add 1/4 cup

of sliced almonds
that we toasted earlier.

-Okay.
-This is going to add

a nice nutty flavor
and a crunch.

-This is the fun part.

-This is where you can
start to really envision

what it's going to look like.

It's really colorful, beautiful.

And I don't want
to over-stir it because,

again, I don't want the color
to wash off of the nonpareils.

-Okay.

-Everything's
evenly distributed.

Now...building time.

I'm just going to start

scooping out our struffoli
around the glass,

and you're going to see
a wreath start to take shape.

-Ooh, hoo!

-So, they might scatter
a little bit,

but this is a forgiving recipe.

And once I have all the
struffoli on the platter,

I can just kind of move them
around before it cools.

-I can see it forming.
-Yeah. So this is a wreath.

I like natural-looking wreaths,

so it does not
have to be perfect at all.

So, beautiful, colorful.

I want more nonpareils.

-Ohh! Ahh!
-Isn't that beautiful?

And last but not least,

I have eight
candied cherries here,

so we're just going to kind of
put these on randomly.

So we're going to now let this
cool for about 20 minutes.

It's almost too nice to eat.

-It's adorable.
-Beautiful.

So this has cooled
for about 20 minutes.

-Okay.
-And now I can remove the glass.

-Nice!
-Would you like to try?

-I would love to.
-Okay. Dive right in, Bridget.

-Awesome.
-Yeah.

-I got a couple clingers.
Oh, you do, too!

Mmm.

-It's very floral.

-Really floral.

-And you get a little
orange, citrusy flavor.

-Alright. I'm going to
go for a glacé cherry.

-I am, too.
-Ooh.

This is how I get my fruit.
-I'm going to add a nut.

This is your fruit for the day.

-[ Chuckles ]

-One cherry per serving.

-The little balls of fried dough
are so tender,

and they still have that
nice crust on the outside.

-Mm-hmm, and the honey
just really comes through,

and it's not sticking
to my teeth.

It's reduced just enough
to hold everything together.

-You promised a showstopper.
-Did I deliver?

-Every single time you deliver.

You know you want
to make this struffoli,

and it starts with an easy dough
made from melted butter.

Portion and cut the dough
into tiny, little squares.

And after frying the dough,
cook them right in the honey.

Of course, don't forget
to shape it into a wreath

and decorate with lots
of colorful toppings.

So, from
"America's Test Kitchen,"

the fun, festive, and fabulous
struffoli.

-Would you like some more?
-Yes.

-I'm going in.

♪♪

-The chocolate market
has exploded

with single-origin bars.

Their labels are beautiful
and really complex.

And, boy, are they expensive.

10 bucks, 12 bucks, even more

for a single bar of chocolate.
-Wow.

-That's how much
I love both of you.

So, I brought three of the bars
we tasted.

We tasted things
from 14 different countries.

-Mmm!
-You can dig in.

Everything is delicious.

I'm just going to tell you that
up front.

-No wrong answers here.
-No wrong answers.

These are all
fairly high-cacao chocolates.

-Mmm.
-Extra bittersweet.

65% all the way up to 77% cacao.

So there's not
a lot of sugar here.

There's a lot of chocolate.
-Gorgeous.

-And what a single-origin
chocolate means,

it comes from a single producer.
-Mm-hmm.

-So, really, like wine
reflects the climate,

the growing conditions.

It's not like
an industrial chocolate

where they're trying
to make the same thing

over and over again
with the same flavor.

-Right.
-This is all about...

it should be unusual.

-And that probably
affects the cost, too.

-Right, and they're also doing
a better job of paying the labor

and really making a commitment
to represent

these local communities
and their chocolates.

-So they don't have
vintages yet.

-Oh, no, they do have vintages.
-Oh, they do have vintages.

Oh, interesting.
So it is really like wine.

-It is exactly like wine.

Yeah, in fact,
they call them harvests

because you don't want
to age the chocolate,

but it's so particular
that they want you to know

this came from this year,
this producer.

To make sense
of all this chocolate,

I came up with three categories

which may or may not
be helpful for you.

Super chocolaty, ultra fudgy.
-Mm-hmm.

-The next is what we called
herbaceous, funky, and earthy.

-Mmm!

-Kind of the most interesting
category.

There were some --
honestly, one that tasted

like shiitake mushrooms.
Yeah, it was --

-So it was earthy.

-It was earthy,
in the best possible way.

And then the third category

was what we called
fruity and acidic.

You're like, "Okay.
Why did he bring warm water?"

So that's why we're in mugs.

So, we found that the warm water

really just helps open up
your taste buds

so that you can really
appreciate the nuances,

and they're really quite
different from each other.

-This one, I feel like,
is the sweetest of the three.

-Okay.
-This one was really

chocolate -- chocolate-forward,
almost ganache-y.

-I will say the cacao content
for the three samples

I put on the table
is fairly close.

-Mm-hmm.
-And some manufacturers,

they're adding
extra cocoa butter

so that you get more creaminess.
In fact, two of the samples

that you're tasting have extra
cocoa butter for extra richness.

Because one of the things,
as you guys know,

when you make
a low-sugar chocolate,

you can lose
some of that creaminess, right?

'Cause there's so much chocolate
in there.

-This one has a red-current
thing going on

I actually really like
because it's unexpected.

But I love all of these.

-Every time
Bridget says a flavor,

I'm like, "Yeah, I taste that
in all of them."

-Hazelnut.
-Yeah. "B."

-Yeah. Hazelnut. "B."

-So, if I asked you
to pick a favorite --

Or do you feel like
that's just so hard here?

-It's not hard. I like "B."
-Okay.

-I like "B." There's something
too fruity about "C" for me.

I don't love citrusy.
It's not my thing.

It's delicious,
but it's not for me.

"B" is my thing.
It's chocolate.

A little nutty.
"A" is delicious, too.

-Yeah, I'm going to go
between "B" and "A."

I think if I had to choose one,

I think I like "A"
a little bit more

because -- just some
of the undertones.

It seems a little bit brighter.
-Alright.

Well, why don't I tell you
what you just tasted?

Sample "A." From a French
chocolatier. Francois Pralus.

Absolutely delicious chocolate.
-Definitely.

-This chocolate's
actually coming from Ghana.

We thought this was in the
ultra fudgy, chocolaty category.

-Ganache-y.
-You said ganache-y.

Yes. Bing, bing, bing, bing.
One for Bridget.

-There we go.
-[ Laughter ]

-The middle chocolate, "B,"

this is from a San Francisco
company, 9th and Larkin.

And this is a 74% cacao
chocolate from Fiji.

And this was, remember,

the kind of herbaceous,
funky, nutty, earthy...

-Grassy.
-...you know, grassy.

"C" was in
the fruity, acidic category.

And this is from another
San Francisco chocolatier

called Dandelion.

This is a 70% cacao chocolate
from India.

And it -- You said red currants.

And I think, you know,
you said fruity.

And that's really the notes
that you get from it.

And it's so different
from "B" and from "A."

-I actually
really enjoyed it, too.

-So there you have it.
Single-origin chocolates.

They're super exciting.
They're interesting.

Try some at your next party.

-Going to call you Mr. Goodbar.

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

-The word "biscotti" means
"twice baked" in Italian,

which refers to the cookie's
unique baking method.

The cookie dough is first shaped
into a loaf which is baked,

then the loaf is sliced,
and the slices are returned

to the oven
to dry through completely

so that they're perfect for
dunking it into a cup of coffee

or a glass of Vin Santo, which
is a delicious Italian wine.

-So good.
-So good.

-We're going to be
making biscotti today

that are appropriately hard
and crunchy,

but they're not
going to be jawbreakers.

We are going to make a
pistachio-spice biscotti today,

something
a little bit different.

Let's start with 1 and 1/4 cups
of pistachios.

And I toasted these
in a 350-degree oven.

Just lightly toasted
for about 8 minutes.

They're going to continue to
toast and bake in the cookies,

so I just wanted to get
a tiny bit of color on them.

So I have 1 and 1/4 cups.

I'm going to take
1/4 cup out here,

and we'll put the remaining cup
into the processor.

And I just want to chop these up
until they're coarsely chopped.

That's going to be
about 8 pulses.

-Ohh, it smells good!

-And now I have that
last 1/4 cup of nuts,

and I'm going to grind these
nice and fine.

And not only is that going to
add some flavor to the cookie,

but it's going to help
and make them tender

the way we want them.
-Nice.

So let's grind these
for 45 seconds.

So, it's been 45 seconds,

and I have 1 and 3/4 cups
of flour, all-purpose.

2 teaspoons of baking powder.

1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Teaspoon of ground cardamom.

Lots of spices going in here.
-Ooh!

Cardamom and pistachio
is a favorite combo of mine.

-Oh! So nice together. They
really complement each other.

-Mm-hmm.
-1/2 teaspoon of cloves.

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
-Ohh!

-To give a little bit
of a spicy kick.

-Ooh, I like that idea.
-Yep.

-1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.

And last but not least,
1/4 teaspoon of ginger.

-That's a lot of spice.
-[ Laughs ] It is.

Now, when we started
making these, we were finding

that all of the volatile oils
in the spices were baking off

because the cookies
are baked twice.

-Makes sense.
-So we really had to

amp up the amounts here.
-Oh, okay.

A lot of spice,
but you're really

going to taste them
in the final cookie.

Well, let's give this a buzz
just to combine everything.

About 15 seconds.

Alright. 15 seconds.
Everything is nicely combined.

Let's put it into a bowl here.

So we're just
going to keep going.

Since we had the food processor
out to grind the nuts,

we're just going to make
the entire dough

in the food processor.
-Makes sense.

-So I have 2 large eggs.

We want to get these
nice and aerated.

I'm going to beat them
for 3 minutes

until they're nice and fluffy.

And that's going to
help to open up that crumb

and that structure
of the cookie, as well.

It's been 3 minutes,
and we can see

the eggs are getting
nice and fluffy in there.

-Yeah, it really
changed texture.

-I know. Just 2 eggs.
They really whip up a lot.

So now let's add our sugar.
I have a cup of sugar.

Try not to spill too much.

Alright. There's the sugar.

Now I have 4 tablespoons
of melted butter.

And too much butter,
and the cookies

will get that soft texture
that we don't want.

But if you don't add enough,
they're going to be really hard.

So 4 tablespoons is just right.

And then a teaspoon of vanilla.

And we want just a little more
moisture, but no more vanilla,

so I'm going to add
another teaspoon of water.

Let's put this into a bowl.

-I love that it uses the food
processor the entire time.

Really simplifies
the cookie-making process.

-Yes. These are not complicated
at all, as you'll see. Okay.

Going to add half of
our flour mixture to the eggs.

I don't want to deflate
those eggs

that we just took time
beating up,

so that's why
I'm adding just half.

-And you're really being careful
to fold it in with the flour.

-That's right. I don't want
to be too aggressive here.

Alright. That's pretty good.

Going to add
the rest of the flour

and our chopped-up nuts.
-Oh, I like it.

So some of the nuts were ground
down into a nut flour,

but the rest are left
kind of chunky

so you get nice, hearty pieces
of pistachio.

-That's it. We're going to get
some nice chunks.

I'm just working this together
until it comes into a dough.

Then we'll clean up
and we'll come back

and we'll shape these.
-Okay.

-Okay, so let's shape the dough
into loaves for the first bake.

Then we'll slice them up
and bake them a second time.

-Okay.
-So, what I've done here

is I took a marker and
I marked off a 3x8 rectangle.

So I have two
of those rectangles.

And then I sprayed
the underside of the parchment

with vegetable-oil spray
so that it'll stick.

So I'm going to
divide the dough in half

because we're going to form
two loaves here.

And the dough's a little sticky,

so I'm going to flour my hands
a little bit.

Now I'm just going to use
my handy-dandy guide here.

I'm going to shape this

into a perfect 8x3 rectangle.

-Pass me the bowl.
I'll do the other one.

-Yeah, go ahead.

Want a little flour?
-Yeah.

-These will spread out
as they bake.

-How much do they spread?
-Just a little bit.

So you'll end up with
about a 4-inch-long cookie.

And that's the perfect size
for dunking, so...

-Alright, so,
the key is to get it even.

-Yeah, it doesn't have to
be perfect. You know me.

-[ Laughs ]
You know me, too.

-Just want to fill
that rectangle.

-Alright.
-And then I have

a little trick here
for making it look even better

that I'll show you.
-Oh, you do? Is that good then?

-I think that's good.
-Okay.

-So, what I'm going to do
is I'm going to lightly spray

the tops of the cookies with
a little vegetable-oil spray.

-Ahh!

-And then I'm also
going to spray a spatula.

And then this just kind of
magically smoothes out the tops.

It just makes them look
really pretty.

-Yeah, well, that way,
you get nice, even slices

so that they bake and dry out
at the same rate.

-That's exactly right.

So, before these
go into the oven,

I'm just going to give them
a little brush

with some egg white.

I beat this
with a little bit of salt.

That helps to
denature the proteins

so it makes it easier to brush.

So I'm going to put these in
for their first bake.

They're going
into a 325-degree oven

for about 25 minutes.

They're going to spread out
a little bit,

and the tops are going to crack
a little bit, as well.

-Great.

Biscotti are twice baked,

making them
pleasantly hard and crunchy.

But the twice baking
also makes it possible

for them to turn overly tough
and hard to eat.

We use nuts to prevent this
from happening. Here's why.

For pistachio biscotti,

we first grind the nuts
into a fine meal,

and then we mix them
with all-purpose flour.

When this nut flour is added
to the liquid ingredients,

the flour proteins,
glutenin and gliadin,

form gluten,

but the nut meal
physically blocks the gluten

from linking
into a large, tough network.

Later, when eating a biscotto,

which is singular
for "biscotti,"

the ground pistachio oil
lubricates the cookie

so that any smaller
formations of gluten

are able to slide around freely.

And this is why our biscotti
have a pleasantly tender crunch

that won't break your teeth.

-Alright, I baked the loaves
for about 25 minutes,

and now they've been cooling

on their baking sheet
for 30 minutes.

-Hm, not much of a looker
at this point.

-They need some more work.
-They do.

-So it's time to cut them
into individual pieces.

I'm going to get my ruler
so I get the first one right.

I want to do
about a half-inch piece

on a very slight bias.

There we go.
That looks about right.

A serrated knife
is really important.

Some of them might break
a little bit like that guy did.

That's okay.
But if you take your time,

you should have good luck
with most of them.

Alright, now,
biscotti means "twice baked."

So here we go.
Let's do the second bake.

-I like how you put them
on a wire rack.

That way, airflow can get
all around the cookie

and really dry it out.
-Exactly.

-And now I'm just going to do
our second loaf here.

Okay, so, I'll put these back
in the oven for 35 minutes.

I'm going to flip them over,
each one, halfway through,

and then they'll be nice

and lightly golden brown
and crunchy.

-Mmm. Great.

-Alright. Let's take a peek.
It's been 35 minutes.

-[ Sniffs ]
Oh, they smell amazing!

-They do. All those spices.

You can smell
the pistachios, too.

-Mm-hmm!
-Alright.

They're nice and dried out.
They're nice and golden brown.

-What a lovely golden color.
-Yeah, these are perfect.

Let's let these cool completely,

and then we'll come back
and we'll enjoy them.

-Okay.

-It's time for
a cookie and coffee break.

-[ Laughs ] I love it.
Thank you for the coffee.

-Yeah. I like to dunk.
I don't know if you're a dunker.

-I am. Especially with biscotti.

-Although, as I said,
these don't have to be dunked.

They're not so hard that you
need to soak them in a liquid.

Right?
-Right.

-So enjoy them
without a dunk first.

-Mmm!

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

-The spices really
come through beautifully.

-And you can taste
the pistachio.

It's not just there
for visual appeal.

You can actually taste it,
which is rare.

-Yeah.
-And I love the texture.

You can snap it apart.

It stays intact,
so it's dunkable

but it's not a jawbreaker.

-I'm going to go for the dunk
this time.

-Mmm! That's delicious!

-Ohh! Mmm!

It's good with the coffee.

-Mm-hmm.
-Mmm.

-And the spices.
-Mm-hmm.

-You get a little bit
of cardamom,

a little bit of ginger,
a little bit of cinnamon.

Perfect.
-Even the black pepper

gives just, like, a tiny bit
of heat in the back.

-That's what it was!

There's a little bit of a tickle
on my tongue,

and it's the black pepper.
I love that!

-Yep. This is a really nice
coffee break.

-Yes, it is, Becky.
Thank you for making these.

-It was my pleasure.

-So, if you want to make
this classic Italian cookie,

start by grinding some
of the nuts into a fine meal,

add extra spice that will
survive the double bake,

and add a little bit
of melted butter to the dough.

From "America's Test Kitchen,"

a wonderful recipe
for pistachio-spice biscotti.

You can get this recipe and all
the recipes from this season,

I'll cheers you with my cookie.
-[ Laughs ] That's a good one.