The gueffus are a typical Sardinian sweet made with almonds! They are small tidbits always present in weddings and religious holidays in general.
They are perhaps among the simplest of the typical Sardinian sweets, as they only require cooking in a pot, without the need to use the oven.
One of the peculiarities is the way in which they are then packaged: one by one, with colored papers cut by hand.
Their origin and their recipe are lost in time. There is no lack of imaginative and literary versions about their origin, such as the one told by Michela Murgia, a well-known writer from the island, in her book “L’Accabadora”: these sweets have been associated with the history of the Guelphs, due to the shape of the paper cut, which would recall the towers of the Guelph castles.
Let’s see how they are prepared!
Ingredients:
- 300 gr. of almonds
- 20 gr. bitter almonds (if you have them)
- 200 gr. sugar
- 2 tablespoons of orange blossom water
- liqueur to taste (Sambuca or Anise)
- colored tissue paper (for final packaging)
Method:
- First prepare the almonds, peel them and chop them finely but without reducing them completely to powder (it is often easier to chop them by adding part of the sugar).
- Pour the remaining sugar and water into a thick-bottomed pot, bring to a boil, keeping the heat low and when it comes to a boil add the chopped almonds.
- Always keep the heat low and continue stirring.
- You will have to cook for about 7/8 minutes, always stirring, until the mixture comes off completely from the edges of the pot.
- If you want, add the orange blossom water.
- When it is slightly warm, prepare a dish with a few tablespoons of sugar and a small bowl with a little liqueur.
- Wet your hands with the liqueur (or water if you do not want to add alcohol), prepare a ball and pass it in the sugar.
- Continue to wet your hands frequently so as not to attack the balls.
- Wrap the balls in the previously cut paper as if they were candy.
Your gueffus are ready and can be stored in a tin or glass jar. These desserts, in fact, keep very long and in the past it was used to prepare them even two weeks before the holidays!