Cantucci are dry and crunchy biscuits typical of the Tuscany region and above all from the city of Prato, but loved and consumed throughout Italy and known throughout the world. Cantucci are made by preparing a mixture of flour, almonds, sugar and Holy wine. The dough must then be divided into loaves which will be baked and cut as soon as they are cooked, to then be baked again until dry and golden biscuits are obtained. Cantucci are fragrant biscuits, fragrant and loved by all, to be served with a glass of Vinsanto or other liqueur wines. They contain neither butter nor oil, they are kneaded in a few minutes and cook in a short time and remain fragrant for several weeks. Cantucci, as well as biscuits with royal icing can be nice and delicious little gifts to give at Christmas!

Preparation

1

Toast the almonds in a static oven at 180° for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a bowl break 2 eggs and add 2 egg yolks, without the egg whites.

2

Pour in the sugar and mix with a whisk.

3

Add the salt, honey and vinsanto, then mix well.

4

Also add flour, baking powder and toasted almonds.

5

Knead trying to compact the dough, then transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and work quickly until you get a homogeneous dough.

6

Divide the dough into two parts and roll them up.

7

Transfer the rolls onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and cook in a preheated static oven at 180° for 15 minutes. Then take it out and let it cool.

8

Cut the biscuits into slices about 1 cm thick.

9

Arrange them on the tray and bake again for about 7-8 minutes, at the same temperature. Then take them out of the oven and turn them over to the other side.

Advice and suggestionsthe

You can add a little of orange zest or vanilla seeds, or vary the Vinsanto with Maraschino or with your favorite raisin wine.

You can use instead of whole almonds, peeled almonds. You can toast them and chop them finely to obtain cantucci with a more regular appearance and consistency.

If you want to prepare softer cantucci you can add 1 egg to the dough or, alternatively, replace the baking powder with baking powder ammonia in the same amount. The ammonia will make your cantucci really soft and fragrant. Don’t worry about the pungent smell of ammonia, it will vanish after cooking! If you want, you can prepare a custard to serve together with the cantucci!

storage

The cantucci can be kept in a closed jar for 1 month. If they become soft, however, you will have to throw them away.

You can freeze the raw dough, once you have formed the loaves of pasta, for about 1 month; it should then be defrosted in the refrigerator and cooked normally.

History

Cantucci were invented even before the sixteenth century in the Prato area. Officially the first mention of the cantucci is from theCrusade Academywho mentions it as dry biscuits in 1691. The pastry chef closest to the history of cantucci is Antonio Matteiborn in Prato, who has been producing cantucci since 1858 in his laboratory.