Ladyfingers (savoiardi)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

From: michelle <MCWright@worldnet.att.net>  Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
Makes about 25 5-inch or 32 4-inch ladyfingers  Preheat oven to 325
degrees F.  Note: Be sure to use extra large cookie sheets if you have
them.  Prepare your cookie sheets with shortening and flour as you
would a  cake pan. Set aside. Sift your flour and salt together, and
then set  aside. I like to sift mine three times. Adjust two racks to
divide  the oven into thirds, and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  In an
electric mixer, beat your egg yolks, 1/2 of your sugar and  vanilla
until mixture is pale yellow. The mixture will be very light  in
texture, and the volume seems to triple. Transfer to another large
mixing bowl. Wash your mixer bowl and beaters thoroughly with hot
water and soap, rinse, then wipe bowl and beaters with vinegar which
will cut any remaining traces of egg yolk. Rinse again with hot water
and then dry. Pour in your egg whites, and whip on low until frothy.
Add your cream of tartar. Increase the speed of the mixer to
medium-high and beat until soft peaks begin to form. Now add your
remaining half of sugar and beat until whites are stiff and shiny.  You
can tell it is ready if you turn your mixer bowl upside down, and  the
whites do not fall out.  Briskly folk in about 1/3 of the whites to
your mixing bowl with egg  yolks/sugar mixture to lighten. Gently fold
in the rest of your whites  until just combined, and then sift flour
over egg mixture and gently  fold until combined. Your sponge batter
will appear like soft clouds.  Fill a large pastry bag with a large
plain tip (about a #6) with your  sponge batter. Working quickly, pipe
4-inch long, about 1/2-inch wide  strips to your prepared cookie sheets
leaving about an inch between  savoiardi. It's allright if you pipe
them a little closer. Gently  dust your savoiardi by sifting powdered
sugar over them. Put your  cookie sheets in the oven. The savoiardi
should be baked for about 15  minutes, but at the halfway mark, I
reverse my sheets from front to  back, top to bottom oven rack and then
bake until they are turning  brown and springy to the touch.  Posted to
MM-Recipes Digest  by eyesopen@ix.netcom.com  (Linda/Tennessee) on Nov
26, 1998, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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