Italian Almond Crumb Cookie (Fregolotta)

Step 1

Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Place the almonds in a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan and toast in the oven until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board and cool; reserve the pan and leave the oven on. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk.

Step 2

When the almonds are cooled, roughly chop them and add them to a large bowl along with the flour, sugar and salt; stir to combine. Scatter the butter over the top and, using your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle on the yolk-milk mixture and stir with a silicone spatula until the mixture resembles a combination of pebbles and sand; it should not form a cohesive dough.

Step 3

Mist the bottom and sides of the reserved baking pan with cooking spray. Transfer the mixture to the reserved pan and distribute it in an even layer but do not compress or compact it.

Step 4

Bake until light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, carefully pry the fregolotta out of the pan and transfer directly to the rack; it’s fine if it breaks during removal. Cool to room temperature. To serve, break the fregolotta into pieces of the desired size.