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Croccante di Natale – Almond Brittle for Christmas
Croccante di Natale or Croccante di mandorle (Almond Brittle) is Abruzzo’s classic Christmas confection. You will find it in every Abruzzese home, on every dessert table and under every Christmas tree. My grandmother, Angela Barra Crocetti, made Croccante throughout the Christmas season. With the American holiday of Thanksgiving behind her, she went to work shelling bag after bag of fragrant almonds. I have never smelled almonds like the ones she used, and to this day I do not know where she bought them. As magnificent as the almonds smelled in their burlap bags, their true wonder was revealed as they toasted in her oven. Even still the perfume of roasting almonds transports me back to her kitchen. Read the remainder of this entry »