Don’t call them cantucci! As a dessert of the Befana we prepare the pepatelli

Pepatelli, also called mbepetielle or papatìlle, are Christmas sweets, typical of Molise and Abruzzo. They are prepared from Christmas to Epiphany day and resemble cantucci in shape.  

Don't call them cantucci, even if it's the simplest way to describe their shape, because people from Abruzzo and Molise might not appreciate them. Pepatelli are a typical sweet from central Italy made with flour, almonds, honey and pepper . It is the latter that gives the recipe its name and gives these biscuits their characteristic flavour.

We also remember that there are also Sicilian pepatelli , or rather piparelli. Similar in shape to their cousins ​​from Abruzzo, the latter differ however in the variety of spices used: cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. This dessert, of Arab origin, was cooked in stoves that smoked like pipes: hence the name.  

Today we see how to prepare Teramo pepatelli .  

How to prepare peppers

1. First, let's make the honey fluid. We can heat it in a bain-marie, still in its jar for about ten minutes, or in the microwave oven for one minute at medium power. In this case, make sure that the honey container is microwave-safe. 
2. Now mix the two flours in a bowl, add the whole almonds, pepper, a pinch of salt and the grated orange peel . Pour in the honey and stir with a spoon to distribute it evenly. 
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form three loaves by dividing the dough into equal parts. The recommended size is 5cm wide, 2cm high. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes . 
4. Take the pepatelli out of the oven, cut them into one centimeter oblique slices and put them back in the still hot oven to dry.

Also try the cantucci recipe!

storage

Once these Epiphany sweets have cooled, they can be kept for a few weeks in a tin box. 

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