This definitive Italian cookie cookbook has 100 authentic recipes, including baking hints and techniques, plus regional stories and a list of Italian bakeries. Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region is a beautiful, comprehensive guided tour of Italy's regions by cookies and cookie stories. With recipes steeped in history and tradition, the book capitalizes on two major continuing food trends: our love of everything cookies and our love of everything Italian. From Lombardy's meringue-like Amaretti de Gallarate to Tuscany's crunchy twice-baked Cantucci; Abruzzo's rustic Pizzelle to Sardina's fennel-scented Anisetti, the reader will discover cookies for every taste and occasion. Directed to the home cook, the book will also include recipes for sweet essentials including candied citrus, amarene (sour cherries preserved in syrup), pastry cream, homemade almond (and hazelnut and pistachio) paste, and pasta frolla--the buttery pastry that forms the foundation of many Italian cookies. Sections on ingredients, equipment, and basic techniques make this book accessible to all.