Italian Chews

This recipe comes from a lady named Jenny who lived down the street from my mom when my mom was little. Jenny had no children of her own, but all the kids in the neighborhood loved her. She had a thick Italian accent and a really big heart. When we make this recipe, my mom recalls Jenny and how kind she was to all the neighborhood kids.

These cookies are also incredibly good. My mom sends cookie tins every year to some of our relatives, and most of the tins have an assortment of six or seven kinds of cookies, but a couple of relatives want Italian Chews only, and my mom is happy to oblige. So we make lots and lots of Italian Chews.

Italian Chews

3/4 c. soft butter
2 T. granulated sugar
1 2/3 c. flour

3 eggs, separated
2 1/4 c. light brown sugar (or 1 pound of brown sugar--if you use a 1 pound box, you don't have to measure)
1 c. finely chopped walnuts
3/4 c. flaked coconut
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Crust: Cream butter; add granulated sugar, beat until light. Add flour and mix well. Pat into 13x9x2" pan; bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. (If the bowl isn't clean, or if there's even a tiny bit of yolk in the egg whites, they won't get stiff. Stiff peaks means that when you lift the beaters out of the egg whites, it makes a peak, and the top of the peak doesn't fold over at all.) Set egg whites aside in a separate bowl. Beat egg yolks; gradually beat in brown sugar. Add nuts and coconut and mix; then gently fold in egg whites, using a spatula. (If you don't fold gently, the egg whites will lose the air that you beat into them.) Spread on baked mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cut in 54 squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.


How to do a "double batch": Mix up one single batch of crust. Pat into a 13 x 9 pan. Mix up another single batch of crust. Pat into another 13 x 9 pan. Bake at the same time. Note that if one pan is darker than the other, it will bake faster. Wash mixer bowl. Beat one set of egg whites. Set aside. Beat the other set of egg whites. Set aside in another bowl. Mix one batch-worth of the filling, fold in egg whites, and spread on crust. Bake. Mix the second batch of filling, fold in egg whites, spread on second crust, and bake.