Snack

Vanilla ice cream is just the right accompaniment to these cookies; orange segments would be a fresh, pretty garnish.

Piparelli Abstinence during Lent means that for the forty days preceding Easter, Catholics all over Sicily are supposed to eat cucina magra (literally, lean food). This means no meat, no fat, no eggs. Theoretically. Modern Catholics get to choose what they give up for Lent, and this is called fare un fioretto, or making a sacrifice. There is little indication that pastries and sweets are even near the top of the "to give up" list, other than the presence of quaresimali, the general term for the category of austere cookies that appear in pastry shops during the spring. Piparelli are the Lenten cookies that the people of Messina like best. At the Pasticceria Vinci Domenico in Messina, piparelli are such a favorite that they're now made year-round.

If you have trouble finding Marcona almonds, you can substitute regular blanched almonds. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 hr (includes cooling)

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Teules de Taronja) These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 30 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 40 min

This recipe is an accompaniment for Yogurt Panna Cotta with Cherry and Peach Compote .

Beer makes for a particularly crisp batter here, and the capers add piquancy. The broccoli and carrots work well in this recipe, but cooks might use other favorite vegetables too, adjusting the deep-frying time as necessary.

(Chocolate Rum Cookies)

Though the cranberries look gorgeous, you wouldn't want to eat them—they're extremely tart when raw. The mint leaves, however, are positively delicious. Fresh raw cranberries yielded the most attractive garnish; thawed frozen berries may collapse and shrivel. Feel free to increase the amounts we've provided here if you'd like to make your decoration more elaborate.