Before I share the recipe, let me tell you a bit about Grandma Alberta, whose wisdom is unparalleled. Born in 1929, she lived most of her life as an illiterate, like most people born in that era. She married Grandpa Beppe when she was barely more than a child, and they had four children, two boys and two girls. 

When her children were old enough to take care of themselves (which wasn’t until they were around thirty, unlike nowadays), she started working as a seamstress. It was during this period, which she remembered as the best time of her life, that she learned to read and write. Her stroke of luck was meeting “La Madamina”, a French lady married to an Italian baron, who had her clothes made by Grandma Alberta. She took her under her wing and taught her the basics of writing. 

But “La Madamina” didn’t stop there, and for some strange reason, she chose my grandma to pass on knowledge that she herself described as “esoteric”. Thus, from an illiterate homemaker, Alberta became the “family intellectual,” as Mom playfully called her.

The recipe you’ll read below is the original one, and there are some tips to follow regarding the ingredients and quantities. 

The flour should be “00” or “0” (I use rice flour, but it’s not the same, I warn you), and as for the butter, it should be cold. The more butter you use, the more crumbly the shortcrust pastry will be. The quantity of sugar in the recipe depends on the desired crunchiness; the more sugar you add, the crunchier your pastry will be. If the dough crumbles during preparation, don’t panic! Just add a couple of tablespoons of cold water or half an egg white to make it elastic again. Finally, unlike other recipes, I don’t recommend substituting any ingredient.

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