Cantucci or Italian almond cookies

If you want to prepare a spectacular dinner, try the recipe for these Italian cookies, the cantucci, cantuccini or biscotti di Prato . I assure you that they will be one of your favorite cookie recipes, they are very easy to make and do not require much time to prepare. And it is that Italians love pasta and cookies, always with the leading role of dried fruits, a characteristic that they share with many of our sweets due to the Mediterranean influence. The ones that I like the most are these long, crispy and full of almond cookies, just delicious.

Its origins say that it comes from the time of the Romans. The military took salty slices with the name of cantellus (from the Latin “slice of bread”) that were ideal for soldiers because of their ease of transportation and preservation. Now we find them in sweet format in the Tuscany area and they receive their name for the double baking that must be given to the cookies so that they reach their final texture (Biscotto: cooked twice). To speak of Biscotti is to speak of Antonio Mattei. This baker rescued the recipe, adapting it and turning it into a delight and a tradition of the Mattei Obrador and a characteristic sweet of the Prato region (Biscotti di Prato).

There are two ways to make this recipe, with or without almonds. My favorites are the ones with almonds. At home I usually prepare them to accompany the infusion at night. But they are perfect to surprise at after-dinner events or special meals. It is usually served together with a sweet wine or a muscat. Whenever I take them out at friends’ meetings they fly! The best way to drink them is to dip the cookie in the sweet wine, a perfect mix and a show on the palate!

Although they may seem complicated to cook, the truth is that they are super simple. The ingredients are incorporated without a pre-established order, so you can add them as best suits you. Move to Tuscany and enjoy international cuisine from these Biscotti di Prato and if you are lucky enough to travel to this region, don’t forget to visit the Obrador de Mattei and buy this iconic cookie. I leave you with these cookies very similar to Catalan carquiñoles or Valencian rosegons, Spanish and Italian almost like brothers!

Preparation of biscotti di prato

1. We put the raw and unpeeled almonds on the baking sheet and on vegetable paper and toast them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 180 ° C. Be careful not to burn them, because they must be white inside.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix it with the sugar. Next we pour the eggs, previously beaten. We mix all the ingredients well until we get a cream.
3. We sift the flour and add it to the previous mixture. Mix everything with a wooden spoon and we will finish working the dough with our hands. We cut the toasted almonds in the middle and add them to the dough. Knead until the almonds are fully integrated.
4. We divide the dough into two pieces and put it on the table. Sprinkle a little flour on the surface where we are going to work and make two cylinders with each piece of dough.
5. We preheat the oven to 180 ° C with heat up and down. We put vegetable paper on the baking tray and place the cylinders on top.
6. We beat an egg and brush the top of the cylinders. We put it in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the top is taking color and some consistency. We take it out and, with the dough still hot, we will cut it into diagonal strips of approximately 2 cm.
7. We place, once again, the cookies already cut, in the oven tray and we bake them again for about 5 minutes on each side, until they acquire a toasted tone. This second step in the oven causes them to dry quite a bit so they keep great for a couple of weeks in a sealed can.
8. We remove from the oven and let cool. Although fresh out of the oven the cantucci may seem quite soft, you will see that when they get cold they get much harder. They are perfect to eat like that without more or dipped in milk.

The cantuccini , also called cantucci or biscotti di Prato , she is one of the perfect sweets with coffee and dip in vin santo, sweet wine where you get wet, A delight! Prepare them at the weekend and you will have some great cookies to dip in the milk for breakfast, or in a sweet wine, as a snack or dessert for dinner. Remember that if we put them in an airtight bottle they last for several days, although they will probably run out much sooner.

Be sure to enjoy all the yummy sweets in our dessert recipes , I assure you that you will find a lot of ideas to make yours much happier. You can see all the photos of the step by step in the next album.