I have a copy of a fun little cookbook called Salty Snacks by Cynthia Nims. It features a wide array of snacks, from chips and crisps to nuts and nibbles. The recipes I've tried have been very tasty and some of them have taken me completely by surprise. The taralli fall into that camp. Taralli are an Italian snack that seem like a cross between a tiny bagel and a pretzel. The recipe in the book calls for only 4 ingredients yet produces a crunchy, flaky, and unexpectedly flavorful snack. The simplicity of the ingredients is like a blank canvas—it begs for add-ins. I decided to add some chopped oil-cured olives, Dijon mustard, thyme, and a little pepper to my batch. The result was a taralli with a flavor reminiscent of tapenade. Note: You can bake the whole batch on a single pan, so if you wanted you could easily double the recipe yet bake them all at once.

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