After Dinner Pastries Cecchina in Mola The Best

Check out the photo of these Italian pastries that are After Dinner Pastries Cecchina in Mola The Best. These are fabulous Italian pastries, of various kinds, that are popular in that country. Some are simple cookies, but most of them have been filled with cream. In Italy, and in most European countries, sweets are not so much sweet, as rich. So they are made with less sugar and tend to be made more with cream (that is unsweetened) and nuts. Almonds are often finely ground and added to pastries, cookie doughs and cakes. That is why the texture of these kinds of desserts is often slightly granular or grainy. The finely ground nuts�whether almonds, hazelnuts or another kind of nut�makes the flour slightly granular. The nuts also add tremendous flavor. In addition, the cream and nuts means that the dessert�cookies, bars, and cakes�are much more filling than the same sort of cookie might be here in North America. It also means they are often much more flavorful.

Along with the use of rich creams and nuts, European desserts often favor fruits. As this photo shows, the fruits in some cookies are created by cooking the fruit down to a concentrated level, so that the flavor impact is intense. That intensity also means that you eat fewer cookies (and may be that is why Europeans are not as fat as their North American counterparts!). In France, a dessert every day is typical, late in the afternoon, with an espresso or cappuccino. If you visit France, when you order a coffee, often a small dainty is served with the drink�even if you do not specifically order it. It is a fabulous and elegant way to get your coffee, with one or two tiny, bite size sweets next to a tiny spoon. Very nice�and worth a trip to Paris just to experience this delightful way to serve coffee.

These treats in the photo are elaborately decorated, often sprinkled with coarse sugar. Using materials such as coarse sugar is another way that European sweets such as cookies and cakes are different from their North American counterparts. The texture allows the use of less sweetness in the actual dough. So a sprinkle of sugar gives a bit of a sweet taste, but the texture allows you to add less, and not feel like you are missing out on anything. North American cookies are often piled high with a sugary icing that is smooth and creamy, lacking in the contrasting textures that make European cookies so unique and delicious. European desserts seem so much more elaborate than North American varieties, and in some ways, they are. They are often made with multiple layers, and complex and contrasting textures, more an architectural configuration of flavors and tastes and textures that build to create a wonderful experience in your mouth. It is well worth a beginning baker to try some European goods to learn how to build up something that is this delicious. So enjoy the photos, and then make some of these pastries for your self and your family today!

Find out how to make this recipe and many others at the website, Facebook - Cooking With Nonna, by following the link below.