Cantucci are a type of Italian biscuit, often dipped into sweet wine at
the end of a meal. Whilst I am not claiming that an Italian would declare my
version to be absolutely authentic, I can assure you that the finished biscuits
are delicious.
As regular readers of my posts will know, I am on a bit of a pistachio
crusade at the moment, eagerly trying all manner of different recipes that use
this fabulously tasty, almost sweet nut. Here I have used whole pistachios
along with whole blanched almonds, but to be honest you could use only
pistachios or whatever other nuts you would prefer.
This is an incredibly simple recipe and the biscuits keep for ages. When
baked for the second time, they are quite hard, but this is the way that they
should be – perfect for dipping into some vin santo at the end of a meal! One
piece of advice… use a large serrated knife to slice the biscuits after their
first baking – it gives the cleanest cut.
Ingredients:
300g plain flour200g caster sugar
50g whole blanched almonds
50g whole pistachios (unsalted)
1 lemon, juice and finely grated zest
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Method:
1. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Place the flour, caster sugar, nuts and lemon zest in a large bowl and
mix together so that everything is well incorporated. Make a well in the centre
of the dry ingredients and pour in the lemon juice and eggs.
3. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together. The dough will be quite
soft, but don’t worry about this. Turn out on to a lightly floured work surface
and knead briefly. Form into a log shape about 8cms x 20cms and place on the
prepared baking tray. Allow to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Bake the biscuit
log for 15-20 minutes until a light golden brown colour. Remove from the oven
and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160C/Fan Oven 140C/Gas
Mark 2.
5. Remove the log from the baking tray and slice width-ways into thin slices
about 1cm thick. Place on the baking tray and bake for a further 15 minutes,
making sure that they do not colour too much.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Makes 20-24 biscuits.
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