Forti

Description
Doughnut-shaped cookies

Ingredients

 * 600 g (1 lb 3½ oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
 * 250 g (8 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
 * 250 g (8 oz) molasses
 * 250 g (8 oz) almonds (unshelled)
 * 100 g (3½ oz) bitter cocoa
 * 80 g (3 oz) butter
 * a scant 0.1 l (3½ fl oz) milk
 * 0.1 l (3½ fl oz) fortified red wine
 * 2 eggs
 * 1 egg white
 * 1 pinch powdered yeast
 * icing (confectioner's) and granulated sugar
 * ½ tsp ginger
 * 1 tbsp cloves, crushed
 * 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
 * salt
 * ½ tsp white pepper

Directions

 * 1) Place the molasses, the ginger, and 50 g (1¾ oz) butter, in pieces, in a bowl, mix well, and add the 2 eggs, whole, and the yeast.
 * 2) Shell the almonds, crush 200 g (7 oz) in a mortar, and add to the other ingredients.
 * 3) Add the wine, the cocoa, sprinkled from a sieve, the cinnamon, the cloves, the pepper and the ginger to the molasses mixture.
 * 4) Dissolve the salt in the milk and add to the mixture, then add the amount of flour necessary to form a dough that is both consistent and soft.
 * 5) Place the dough on a pastry board and knead with the hands, return to the bowl, cover with a cloth or a plate and allow to rest for 2 days.
 * 6) Then roll out pieces of the dough, one at a time, to form sheets.
 * 7) Using a small 7 cm (3 in) diameter mould, cut rounds from the dough sheets, making a small hole in the centre of each round with an upside down glass, smaller than the original mould, thus forming small rings.
 * 8) Crush the remaining almonds in a mortar and add a little icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) and the egg white.
 * 9) Brush this mixture on the "ciambelline" and sprinkle with the granulated sugar, crushed.
 * 10) Use the remaining butter to grease a baking tray (cookie sheet) and bake in the oven at 180°C / 350°F / gas 4 for 15 minutes.
 * 11) With the help of a spatula, remove from the baking tray and arrange on one or more pastry racks.
 * 12) The biscuits (cookies) keep for a long time in metal containers.