Disclosure: The Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays cookbook was provided for review by the publisher for review. The opinions expressed are my own.

My Cookbook Addiction is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program and earns fees from qualifying purchases. The fees will not affect the cost of the purchases.

Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays

The Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays with 130 Classic Holidays Recipes from Italian Grandmothers cookbook by Rosella Rago lists delicious Italian recipes from regions all over Italy. The life stories and holiday memories of the Nonne (grandmothers) are captivating. Their cooking advice and tips are invaluable.

Chapters and Recipes

First, we’re introduced to the Basic Recipes such as Pastry Cream (Crema Pasticcera) and Fig or Wine Syrup (Vin Cotto) which will be used throughout the cookbook.

Italian Holiday Recipes

I’ve listed sample recipes by holidays below:

New Year’s Eve and Day – Cottechino Sausage with Lentils (Cottechino con Lenticchie), No-Bake Almond San Marzano Balls (Palline di San Marzano)

Valentine’s Day – Spaghetti in Wine Sauce (Spaghetti al Primitivo), Panna Cotta with Sour Cherries (Panna Cotta con Amarene)

Carnevale – Bow Tie Fritters (Chiacchiere Baresi), Baked Figs with Almonds (Fichi Mandorlati)

Good Friday – Savory Scallion Pie (Scalcione), Tuna Pie with Tomatoes and Parsley (Pasticcio di Tonno)

Easter – Lamb with Potatoes (Tiella di Angello e Patate), Soft Easter Bread (Pane is Pasqua), Wheat Pie (Pastiera Napoletana)

Little Easter – Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Frittata (Fittata di Cime di Rapa e Salsiccia), Puglia-Style Stuffed Artichokes (Carciofi Ripieni alla Pugliese)

Thanksgiving – Butternut Squash Lasagna (Lasagne di Zucca), Sicilian Potato Pie (Gattò di Patate)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was my favourite holiday growing up. My family would gather at my Zio Tony and Zia Anna’s house (who lived next door to us) along with our extended family to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes. The tables were full of fish and seafood dishes lovingly prepared my aunt and uncle. As always, there was enough food to feed the neighbourhood. Everyone was welcome. After we ate, we would all sing and played card games as we waited for midnight to open our presents. Such great memories!

Some of the dishes included: Fried Cardoons (Cardoni Fritti), Mussels in Red Sauce (Zuppa de Cozze con Pomodoro), Fried Calamari (Calamari Fritti)

Christmas Day – Egg Drop Chicken Soup (Stracciatella), Lasagne with Tiny Meatballs (Lasagne con Polpetinne), Italian Christmas Bread (Panettone

Saint Days and Celebrations

Epiphany (January 6th) – Sweet Coal (Carbone della Benfana)

International Women’s Day) (March 8th) – Champagne and Strawberry Mimosa Cake (Torta Mimosa)

Saint Joseph’s Day (March 19) – St. Joshep Sfinci and Zeppole (Sfinci e Zeppole di San Giuseppe), Mafaldine Pasta with Anchovies (Lasagne di San Giuseppe)

Saint Rocco’s Day (August 16) – Bread of Saint Rocco (Frese di San Rocco)

Halloween (October 31) and All Souls’ Day ( November 2) – Eggs in Purgatory with Polenta (Uova in Purgatorio con Polenta), Bones of the Dead (Ossa dei Morti)

Saint Lucia’s Day (December 13th) – Taralli of Saint Lucia (Occhi di Santa Lucia), Sicilian Wheat Berry and Ricotta Pudding (Cuccia)

Celebrations

Cherries in Sweet Wine (Ciliegie con Vin Santo), Wedding Pastries (Dolci della Sposa)

Baking in the Kitchen

Since I was raised in an Italian household many of the Italian holiday recipes listed in the cookbook are familiar to me. My love for cannoli led me to choose to make the cannoli cookies. Now I love cannoli cookies. They don’t have the same crunch as cannoli shells but you once you bite into a cannoli cookie topped with chopped pistachios and full of cannoli flavour, the crunch becomes a distant memory.

This recipe is listed in the Christmas section of the cookbook, but like cannoli, but I can eat them anytime. Make lots because they won’t last long.

Cannoli Cookies Recipe (Page 220)

Cannoli Cookies

NONNA ROMANA SCIDDURLO

I didn’t think it was possible to get all the flavors of a cannoli in a single cookie, but guess what? It is! Nonna Romana and I jazzed up her classic ricotta cookie recipe with notes of orange and cinnamon, before adding some yummy pistachios and chocolate chips to the batter for crunch and texture. I love decorating these with a gorgeous, thick white glaze and different-colored candied cherries to put everyone in the holiday mood.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Total Time 32

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 48 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (125 gr) unsalted pistachios
2 cups (240 gr) all-purpose or 00 flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick or 120 gr) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
zest of 1 orange
1 large egg at room temperature
8 ounces (227 gr) whole-milk ricotta at room temperature
1 cup (180 gr) mini chocolate chips

Glaze

2 cups (240 gr) confectioners' sugar
3 3 tablespoons (45 ml( milk plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Decorating

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the cookies:

In a food processor, process the pistachios until coarsely chopped, 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest. Beat for about 5 minutes on medium-high speed until fluffy.
Add the egg and ricotta. Beat again on medium-high speed to combine
Add the dry ingredients, little by little, and beat on medium-high speed until a dough forms. Mix in the pistachios and chocolate chips.
Using a tablespoon (15 g), portion the dough, roll it into balls, and place 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies should be slightly brown. Cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze:

In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until a smooth glaze forms. Add less milk for a thicker glaze or more for a thinner glaze. Spoon the glaze over the cookies and decorate with chopped pistachios and candied cherries as desired.

Keyword cannoli cookies, cooking with Nonna cannoli cookies

Cookbook Shelf Worthy?

What makes the Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays: 130 Classic Holiday Recipes from Italian Grandmothers endearing to me is not only the traditional Italian recipes but the holiday memories the Nonne (grandmothers) share which invoked feelings of nostalgia remembering the good times I had celebrating with my Nonne. They’re both gone now, but I still have childhood memories of watching my Nonna Giuseppina from Molise forming cavatelli at the speed of light, and my Nonna Rosa from Sicily making her famous caponata. I look forward to making holiday cooking and baking memories with my grandchildren when they are older.

To quote Rossella Rago’s Nonna Romana:

“Figlia bella de Nonna, durante le feste si creano i ricordi più belli”. (Throughout the holidays, the most beautiful memories are made).

For more Italian recipes, visit the Cooking with Nonna website or watch Rossella’s popular web cooking show, Cooking with Nonna.

Thank you for reading the Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays cookbook review. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Cookbook Addiction newsletter. The spring issue will feature upcoming cookbooks and a cookbook giveaway! If you have any suggestions for future cookbook reviews, please send me a message on My Cookbook Addiction Facebook page.

Cookbook Details:

Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays

Author: Rossella Rago

Publisher: Race Point, an imprint of The Quatro Group

Hardcover: 256 pages

Acknowledgement

Recipe and photo excerpts reprinted with permission from Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays: 130 Classic Holiday Recipes by Rosella Rago, Race Point Publishing 2018. Text Rossella Rago 2018. Photography Colin Cooke 2018.

Disclosure

The Cooking with Nonna: A Year of Italian Holidays cookbook was provided for review by the publisher for review. The opinions expressed are my own.

My Cookbook Addiction is a participant in the Amazon Affiliate Program and earns fees from qualifying purchases. The fees will not affect the cost of the purchases.