Name: Amanda Lanza's 'The Brick' cookies Recipe
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Makes 17 cookies
Cuisine: ITALIAN
Ingredients: 1 cup cold vegetable shortening; 1 cup cane sugar; 4 large eggs; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 2 envelopes Vanillina, Italian vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract); 568 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour; 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk (depending on flour)

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By Amanda Lanza

Dec. 7, 2023

Thick, nostalgic and filling, this family recipe from Garibaldina member Amanda Lanza — who also is the chef-founder of the club’s popular Bar Bene series — is a riff on a classic Italian breakfast cookie or biscottoni. Meant to be enjoyed with a glass of milk or espresso, it’s a simple and vanilla-scented delight, and a heartier relative to a classic sugar cookie. Lanza’s family calls it “The Brick” in a nod to the hard consistency when made by her family’s Sicilian matriarch, Antonina Di Maria, who continued baking it almost until her death at the age of 104.

As a professional chef, Lanza slightly adapted Di Maria’s recipe and its bake time to yield a less brick-like cookie, resulting in a fluffier, softer center. When preparing the cookies, using a scoop helps to make each portion uniform. It also makes easy work of forming the dough balls, to the point of no longer needing to weigh each one. Di Maria would hand-mix her cookie dough, which led to a lumpier consistency; Lanza recommends using a stand mixer for uniform texture.

'The Brick' Cookies

1 cup cold vegetable shortening

1 cup cane sugar

4 large eggs

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 envelopes Vanillina, Italian vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

568 grams (4 cups) all-purpose flour

⅓ to ½ cup whole milk (depending on flour)

Mix the cold vegetable shortening at low speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer to break it down.

Once the shortening is broken up a bit, add the sugar and increase the speed to medium until well creamed, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly with each. You may need to push down the sides to allow for full incorporation.

Add the baking powder and the Vanillina powder or vanilla extract, and mix until incorporated.

Add the flour 1 cup at a time on low speed to form a shaggy dough.

With the mixer still on low, slowly drizzle the milk into the dough. You want the dough to lean more firm than gooey. This is where you need to use your inner nonna intuition to determine the texture of the dough. Do not overmix or the dough will become too sticky.

Roll or scoop the dough into 2-ounce balls and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the cookies on the baking sheets spaced 1 ½ to 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are cooked through and have not browned, about 18 minutes.