Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 500 grams (3 cups) flour (preferably 00)
300 grams (⅔ound) almonds with the brown skins still on
300 grams (1 ½ cups) sugar (preferably vanilla-scented, by keeping vanilla beans in the sugar jar)
100 grams (7 Tbsp) butter; 5 eggs
pinch of salt; 1 tsp (4 grams) baking powder
optional: grated lemon zest, ground aniseed, ground coriander, seeds from a vanilla bean
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Directions: |
Directions:Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out the almonds in a single layer. Toast for 4 minutes and let cool. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and let it cool.
Combine sugar, 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk, and a pinch of salt in the mixer. Reserve the remaining egg white for brushing the dough later on. Mix for some minutes until nice and fluffy. Add the melted butter (which should be less than 50C/120F to prevent cooking the eggs) and mix to incorporate. Transfer the egg mixture to a bowl. Sieve flour and baking powder into the bowl.
Mix with a wooden spoon, working from bottom to top. The dough is ready when you don’t see any flour anymore. Stir in the almonds. Now comes the sticky bit. Take out the dough on a floured work surface, and divide into three pieces. Put the three pieces onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and shape into three logs about 5 cm (2″) wide. Don’t worry if they don’t look smooth. Thankfully the sticky part ends here. Lightly beat the reserved egg white. Brush the logs with the egg white. While you are brushing, you can also brush the logs into shape. The logs tend to spread out too much which will lead to cantuccini that are too long. So brush firmly along the edges to make them narrower.
Bake for 20-30 minutes at 190C/375F until golden. Let cool on a rack for a few minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 175C/350F. As soon as the logs are cold enough to handle, cut diagonally into cantuccini about 1 cm (1/2 “) wide with a sharp serrated knife. Put the cantuccini back on the baking sheet with one of the cut sides down. Bake for 12 minutes at 175C/350F. Turn the cantuccini around and bake for another 8 minutes. Let the cantuccini cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container as soon as they are at room temperature. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Known as Cantucci or Cantuccini, but officially called Biscotti di Prato. The combination of Cantuccini with Vin Santo is one of the most famous and most delicious desserts from Tuscany. This Italian-American likes to dip his Biscott/ Cantuccini in his morning coffee – a practice that is frowned upon in Italy. Vin Santo – "holy wine" (origin of the term is uncertain) A sweet dessert wine unique to Tuscany where it is called the Wine of Hospitality (Vino dell'ospitalità), the red wine version of it is called Eye of the Partridge (Occhio di Pernice) alluding to the wine’s brilliant color. Traditionally, winemakers dry grapes by hanging the harvested bunches up or arranging them on racks in attics or barns. After three or four months, the semi-dried grapes are full of concentrated sugars and flavors. After pressing, the juice is fermented in small wooden barrels, and aged for at least three years. The barrels are never completely filled, which exposes the wine to air. They’re also subject to varying temperatures throughout the year. This treatment, which would wreak havoc on ordinary table wine, can have a delicious effect on Vin Santo. The wine emerges from aging with a characteristic nutty, caramel flavor, a deep golden color and an alcohol content that ranges from 14 to 17 percent. Vin Santo is typically made with Trebbiano and Malvasia grape varieties. A red Vin Santo may also be produced from Sangiovese grapes.
Ciambelline al Vino (Red wine and Fennel Ring Biscuits) is another dipping biscuit from farther south in the Lazio region that includes Rome. In a bowl, combine olive oil, wine and sugar. Add flour, salt and, if using, fennel (or anise) seeds, in a slow and steady stream. Bring the ingredients together and transfer to a clean and lightly-dusted work surface. Knead until you have a smooth dough that no longer sticks to the work surface. Take walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into logs 8 – 10 cm long. Curl each log so their ends meet and overlap. Pinch gently to form rings. Dip the rings face down into a shallow bowl filled with sugar until well-coated. Arrange sugar-coated rings on a lined baking tray. For biscuits made for dipping, omit the sugar. Bake in a preheated oven set at 180 º C for 25 to 30 minutes or until dry to touch, golden and crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
THE RUBAIYAT BY OMAR KHAYAAM
TRANSLATED BY EDWARD FITZGERALD
Arrivederci e Buona Fortuna
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This recipe for Cantucci (Biscotti) with Vin Santo is from