Great Italian Cooking

This recipe is so fun and easy. Great for children and the kid inside you that screams "I want spaghetti and meatballs". This is an awesome way of enjoying an old favorite in a whole new fashion. One day I was looking at my cupcake pans and said to myself "I could make anything in those things" and it hit me. Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes!!!!!!!  You can serve these for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Served hot, warm or cold.  And the possibilities are endless by adding your favorite sauce, toppings, etc. Enjoy one of my new Great Italian Cooking recipes.


Ingredients:

1 pound of Angel Hair pasta (cooked and drained.)
2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce.
1/2 cup of your favorite grated cheese. (Parmigiana/Romano)
12  1/2" cubes of mozzarella cheese
12   1" sized meatballs (cooked)

Olive oil to lightly coat cupcake pan.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta according to directions. Strain and rinse with cold water. Drain completely of excess water. In a Large bowl combine Pasta, Sauce and Romano cheese and mix well. Lightly spray or coat inside of each cupcake pan with oil. Using a Tablespoon size spoon and fork, start twirling pasta around fork using the inside of the spoon to form a large round ball of pasta. Carefully place into a cupcake opening. Try and fill slightly above the rim of the cupcake pan and to keep the remaining balls of pasta the same size and shape. Once you have filled your pan, carefully push a cube of mozzarella into the top center of the spaghetti making sure it's level with the pasta. Now top each one with a meatball pushing down lightly forming a nest so the meatball won't fall off. Bake for 20 minutes. Wait a few minutes for the Spaghetti to cool down and serve warm with lot's of smiles. Enjoy.

1 cup regular white sugar
2 Large eggs  (Room Temp., Whites only), (Not Extra large Nor Jumbo eggs, just large size.)
2 Tsp. Amaretto Liquor

Topping:
1 cup pine nuts lightly warmed (For topping cookies)

Making Cookie Dough: With a food processor or mixer place Sugar and Almond Paste (Break or cut paste into 1 inch cubes or pieces) and mix together by pulsing, then on high until the Paste and Sugar  resemble a moist/dry crumbly mixture with no lumps of almond paste. Place in a large glass bowl and set aside. Next step.
In a separate (preferably copper, Avoid aluminum bowls) bowl add the two Egg Whites. Using a beater with whisk or beating attachment start mixing at a slow speed and gradually move up to a high speed until stiff peaks form.  (When the egg whites get white and fluffy..STOP!!! Over-beating will just liquify again. Stiff peaks are when the beaters or whisk are lifted out of the egg whites, the peak will stand erect and not bend/fall over)
Now add the stiff peaks(fluffy egg white mix) and 2 tsp. of Amaretto to the Bowl with the Sugar/Almond paste mixture (Using a rubber folding spatula) softly and slowly, fold the egg whites into the batter completely. Once completed, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator at least 3 hrs. or over night.

When ready to bake cookies preheat oven to 335 degrees. (Keep cookie mix in refrigerator till the final step.

Using a DRY no-stick pan. Over medium heat warm (shaking the pan to heat all sides) pine nuts until they look glossy/wet to release their natural oils. (You are not toasting, just releasing their natural oils)  Immediately pour pine nuts into a shallow plate and let cool completely.

Cover cookie/baking sheet with aluminum foil shiny side up and spray with butter flavored non-stick spray.

Final Step:    

Remove cookie mixture from refrigerator. Working quickly. Using a teaspoon, scoop out a slightly rounded teaspoon of the cookie paste, roll into a small ball and then press each ball into pignoli nuts flattening balls slightly. Coating only one side of the ball with a few pine nuts. 



Makes 18-24 cookies.