Have you ever heard of tetù and teio?

Tetù and teio are very spicy biscuits typical of Sicilian cuisine, usually prepared on the occasion of the day of the dead.

Italian cuisine hides many secrets and some recipes are very little known outside their territory of origin. Among these are the tetù and teio, typical Sicilian biscuits covered with icing and with a soft heart . Also known as Sicilian biscuits of the dead, they were originally prepared with pastry scraps .

Hence, in all likelihood, the addition of spices with such a strong flavor as cinnamon, cloves and cardamom , was used precisely to uniform the flavor as much as possible. They were in fact sweets of the poor but with their aroma immediately created a festive atmosphere. The preparation is really simple because the dough is similar to shortcrust pastry, but we guarantee that it has nothing banal at all.

How to prepare tetù and teio with the original recipe

1. First, mix the flour with the lard until you get a crumbled dough.
2. Then add the almond flour , all the powdered spices and the sugar .
3. At this stage, add the salt , baking soda and egg and mix.
4. Pour the milk you will need to obtain a dough similar to shortcrust pastry but softer.
5. Divide the dough into two parts and add the cocoa to one of them.
6. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Prepare portions of 35 g each, roll them in your hands to form balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake at 180 ° C for 30 minutes , keeping the two trays with the two types of biscuits separate.
9. Now proceed with the icing by mixing the egg white with the icing sugar .
10. Dip the biscuits and as they are ready place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
11. Bake again at 120 ° C for 10 minutes .

If you love Sicilian dessert recipes, we suggest you also try the piparelli alla messinese , a sort of corner.

storage

Tetù and teio can be kept in a tin box for over a week .