Crumiri

In a prior post I shared a recipe for Meini o Pani de Mei (here) from Carol Field’s The Italian Baker [1985]. Field writes that these cornmeal buns are a specialty of Italy’s Lombardy region. To celebrate the recent publication of a revised version of The Italian Baker, let’s explore another corn-based offering from Field’s excellent work: a delicious, buttery cornmeal biscotti from the Piedmont called Crumiri.

Field describes Crumiri as “delicate, crumbly horseshoe-shaped cookies”. The origin of Crumiri (sometimes called Crumiri di Casale or Krumiri ) dates back to the late 1800’s when a baker named Domenico Rossi invented the cookie after a night of social drinking in the town of Casale Monferrato in the Piedmont’s Alessandria province. What inspired Signore Rossi on that eventful evening in 1870? The cookie’s own name suggests inspiration came in the form of a then popular liqueur called Krumiro.

Crumiri generally come shaped as the horseshoe described by Field or as a gentle arc that purposely resembles the remarkable mustache of Vittorio Emanuele II. Cookie lore has it that in 1878 Rossi reshaped his Krumiri into a mustachioed form to recall the whiskers of the recently deceased king. Did this new shape do justice to the exemplar? You be the judge.

Being partial to butter and corn in almost any combination, I would like Crumiri even without its colorful history. I have a number of recipes for this biscotti; Field’s version tastes more refined than most with just the right amount of cornmeal. The recipe’s parenthetical comments belong to Field.

• 1½ sticks plus 2 tablespoons (200 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1¾ cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (120 grams) fine yellow cornmeal

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Shift the flour, salt and cornmeal together and sift again over the batter; mix well.

Shaping. You can shape these cookies either with a pastry bag or by hand (I think the latter is easier). If using a pastry bag, spoon the dough into the bag fitted with a 3/8-inch star-shaped tip (the traditional cookies are ribbed.) Pipe 4-inch-long logs, ½ inch thick, about 2 inches apart on buttered and floured or parchment-lined baking sheets. Or, roll pieces of the dough, each about the size of a walnut, into long thin logs of the same dimensions. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bend each piped or rolled log into a horseshoe.

Baking.  Heat the oven to 325º F. Bake until lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Cool on racks.

Field’s recipe makes two dozen cookies. I think the ridges distinguish these biscotti, so I use a pastry bag and star-shaped tip when making them. If you decide to pipe the dough, be sure to cream the butter, sugar and eggs thoroughly; otherwise the cookies will spread and flatten out during baking and you will lose the Crumiri’s traditional ridges. One approach: using a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar in a mixer set on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes.  After reducing the speed to low to add the eggs, increase the mixer’s speed to medium-high and cream for 8 minutes. Quickly mix in the dry ingredients and you are ready to bake.

Meini o Pani de Mei

From Miss Fairfax we learn that “cake is rarely seen in the best houses nowadays.” But what about sweet corn cookies from Italy? Meini o Pani de Mei are always fashionable, especially with tea or after dinner served with coffee or a glass of white wine.

Italian cookies are remarkably diverse. Regional factors such as trade, prosperity, religious celebrations and geography influence the many variations. You find more butter-based cookies in the cooler, dairy-rich North and more olive oil- and ground nut-based cookies in the warmer South. Regions that grow corn, such as Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, have traditional maize cookies. Sicily excels in almond production and almond paste cookies are found throughout the region. Piedmont’s hazelnut orchards beget hazelnut cookies.

The following recipe for Meini o Pani de Mei is from Carol Field’s The Italian Baker [1985]. Although classified by Field as bread, Meini are more cookie than bun, muffin or scone. They are traditionally enjoyed on 24 April “as a celebration of the liberation of [the Milanese] countryside from the assault of a ferocious highwayman and his brigands during the Middle Ages.” The Milanese also traditionally serve these cookies on All Souls’ Day to bring cheer on a day of remembrance. These are happy cookies.

• 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup plus 2 teaspoons milk
• 3¼ cups (450 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (300 grams) fine yellow cornmeal
• 3½ teaspoons baking powder
•  2 drops almond oil or 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• About 1/3 cup (70 grams) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (70 grams) confectioners’ sugar

By Mixer Only         Using the whisk if you have one, beat the butter, 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, and the honey for 1 to 2 minutes at low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg, egg yolk, and 2 teaspoons milk and continue beating for 1 minute. Mix in the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Add ½ cup milk and the almond oil and mix at the lowest speed until blended. The dough should be stiff but not heavy. Knead briefly by hand or mixer, sprinkling with additional flour as needed, until buttery, soft, pliable, and slightly sticky.

Shaping         Line baking sheets with parchment paper or buttered brown paper. Cut the dough into 15 equal pieces (3 ounces or 90 grams each). Flour your hands and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball into a ½-inch-thick patty, the size of a hamburger and the width of a woman’s hand. Place on the paper-lined baking sheets.

Glazing         Brush the tops with water and then sprinkle with granulated sugar, making sure a thin layer of sugar covers each bun. You can shake off the excess sugar by holding on to the paper and shaking the sugar up and over the edge of the pan. Place the confectioners’ sugar in a sifter or sieve and sift the sugar heavily over the buns so that they look as if they’re lost in a blizzard of sugar. The excess powdered sugar can stay on the paper because it will not caramelize.

Baking         Heat oven to 375ºF. Bake until the sugar on top has cracked into an irregular design, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on racks. Makes 15 buns.

It is hard to imagine that a recipe containing the words patty, hamburger and woman’s hand can produce such excellent cookies.

Some thoughts and comments on this recipe: Field calls for 1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar but only adds 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons when creaming the butter. The recipe does not account for the 1 tablespoon difference. I have baked different batches using each measurement and the cookies taste just fine either way. The 1¼ cups (250 grams) version is sweeter.

Over time I have moved from larger to smaller Meini. The recipe divides the dough into pieces weighing approximately 3 ounces or 90 grams. The accompanying photographs show pieces weighing approximately 2 ounces or 60 grams. This smaller size yields 24 cookies instead of 15. I like to serve the smaller cookies as a simple dessert. If you decide to bake smaller cookies, check them after baking for 15 minutes.