How to make almond cantucci: the original Tuscan recipe

Excellent with tea or coffee but amazing with vin santo, here is the recipe for Tuscan almond cantucci.

Cantucci are dry Tuscan biscuits, originally from Prato, prepared with almonds and cut into the classic slice shape as soon as they are baked. They owe their name to the Latin term " cantellus ", which means slice of bread, and refers precisely to their particular shape.

The almond biscuits boast an honorable mention in 1867 at the famous universal exhibition in Paris. Preparing these dry biscuits at home is really easy , and the ingredients you need are very few.

• Preparation
• Cantucci or tozzetti?
• Conservation
• Origin and history
• Cantucci and vin santo

Ingredients

For the nooks

• 00 flour – 280 g
• Sugar – 150 g
• Almonds with peel – 120 g
• Eggs – 2
• Butter – 50 g
• Baking ammonia (or baking powder) – 1/2 teaspoon
• Organic orange – 1/2
• Salt – 1 pinch

To complete

• Yolks – 1

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Preparation

How to prepare the homemade cantucci recipe

1

Start with the almonds , which must necessarily have brown skin. Place them on a baking tray and toast them for a few minutes.

2

Break the eggs into a bowl, adding the granulated sugar and a pinch of salt, and mix everything together with a fork. You don't need to be too precise. Flavor with grated orange zest .

3

At this point add the soft butter , the flour – preferably sifted – and the baking ammonia (as an alternative to common baking powder).

4

Incorporate the toasted almonds , which you have allowed to cool, into the dough and then form 3-4 cm wide loaves without flattening them. Simply place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

5

Brush the loaves with the beaten egg yolk , and then bake them at 180°C for 25 minutes .

6

As soon as you take the loaves out of the oven, cut them with a knife into their classic shape into diagonal slices 1.5-2 cm thick. Place them again on the baking tray with the cut in contact with it and cook them for another 10 minutes , turning them halfway through cooking so as to obtain uniform crunchiness. Once cold, the almond cantuccini are ready to be enjoyed.

And here is a very similar video recipe , even if it was created for a larger number of people:

Serve your almond cantucci alone, perhaps to make beautiful gastronomic gifts, or at the end of the meal, together with coffee or vin santo. Furthermore, if you love the particular consistency of these biscuits and are looking for something excellent to dip in milk, try the chocolate cantucci : you won't regret it.

Cantucci or tozzetti: is there a difference?

Often when we talk about cantucci we also mention tozzetti. Why? What are they? It's easy to say: when the original recipe for cantucci (which, let's remember, is codified ) undergoes changes, then those biscuits will have to be called tozzetti.

If they are, for example, with hazelnuts or soft, then we are looking at tozzetti and not cantucci. Clearly, nooks are always also small but the opposite is not true.

Read also

Cantucci and tozzetti: what is the difference between these two biscuits?

Conservation

If stored in a special box, with a lid, and away from sources of light or humidity, they can be kept for up to 1 month . Be careful, if after a few days they are soggy we recommend not eating them.

Origin and history

These typical Tuscan biscuits are also known as cantuccini, Prato biscuits or Etruscan biscuits . According to some historical sources, their ancestors include cantellus , slices of rusk flavored with anise popular in Roman times. Just like our biscuits, they had the advantage of being preserved for a long time, making them excellent for military campaigns.

As we know them today they are typical of the city of Prato but were actually born in Siena. Even the addition of almonds is posthumous and for this we have to thank Caterina de' Medici, a sovereign passionate about good food and gastronomy.

From there the history of the cantucci is well traced: in 1691 they were mentioned and described by the Accademia della Crusca as " sliced ​​biscuit, made of fine flour, with sugar and egg white ". They then reappeared in the 18th century in a writing by Amadio Baldanzi now jealously guarded in the State Archives of the city of Prato and considered as the only and original recipe. As mentioned in the introduction, the cantucci also arrived at the Paris Expo in 1867 .

We arrive in a more recent era. In the 19th century Antonio Mattei , a well-known pastry chef from Prato, began producing cantucci just as we know them today. His Bottega di Mattonella , with the sign "manufacturer of biscuits, biscuits and other products" is still active and represents an institution with its Savoy blue bag, made in homage to the kings of the time.

In 2011, Assocantuccini was founded, an association of producers with the aim of recognizing the PGI brand, which was then obtained in 2015. According to the specifications , the cantucci must contain at least 20% almonds and have a maximum weight of 15 g per piece and dimensions not exceeding 10 cm in length, 3 cm in height and 2.8 cm in width.

Similar recipes are also present under different names in other areas of Italy: in Romagna we have scroccadenti, which is larger in shape; in Basilicata the stozza; in Sicily the piparelli .

Cantucci and vin santo

The combination par excellence is between cantucci and vin santo, a typical Tuscan aromatic passito wine. According to bon ton they should be enjoyed together but not dunked but try to convince a Tuscan!

However, the name with which the wine is identified is curious. The history (or rather the legend) about it has really been wasted. According to some, this fine was used by a Franciscan friar to cure the plague in 1348. According to others, the reference is to the custom of leaving the grapes to dry until Holy Week before proceeding with pressing. There is something original about the legend which reports the exclamation of a Greek, John Bessarion. Upon hearing “This is Xantos wine!” that is, of Santorini, the guests understood santos , thinking that the man had seen miraculous properties in it.

The truth, however, seems to be less prosaic: vin santo is so called because it was originally used during the Eucharist . It matters little though: its goodness is such that people of the caliber of Herman Hesse and Pellegrino Artusi sang its praises.

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