During the Christmas holidays I like to bring the specialties of the different regions to the table! In Campania it is customary to prepare truly formidable spiced biscuits, which I can't wait to offer you: I'm referring to the very famous mostaccioli, spiced sweets covered with chocolate. There are several versions: discover mine, without butter and eggs!
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Identity Card of the Recipe
- 416 KCal Calories per serving
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Ingrediants
For about 50 cookies
- 20 ml of milk
- 1 pinch of salt
- 25 ml of water or rum
- 80 g of candied cherries, candied ginger, candied orange or lemon verbena
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg powder
- 1 teaspoon of clove powder
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
- Peel of untreated oranges
- 8 g of ammonium bicarbonate
- 12 g of bitter cocoa
- 50 ml of corn oil
- 50 g of almonds
- 50 g of sugar
- 80 g of honey
- 250 g of white flour of type 00
For coverage
- 30 ml of corn oil
- 200 g of dark chocolate
Materials Needed
- Bowl
- Mixer
- Knife
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Knife or pastry wheel
- Transparent film
Preparation
- Blend the almonds together with the sugar.
- Collect the candied fruit (e.g. cherries, ginger, orange, cedar, etc.) in the blender and chop coarsely.
- In a bowl, mix the white flour with the almond powder and the chopped candied fruit. Add the salt, the bitter cocoa, the pounded spices (eg cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) and the orange zest. Heat the honey and add it to the other ingredients. Dissolve the ammonium bicarbonate in a couple of tablespoons of hot milk and add the mixture to the center of the ingredients. Mix everything by adding the seed oil and rum, until you get a consistency reminiscent of that of shortcrust pastry.
- Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes, wrapping it in a sheet of cling film.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 4-5 millimeters. Cut the dough into rhombuses from the side of 3 cm, using a specific mold or using a simple knife, make oblique cuts.
- Arrange the diamonds on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake the biscuits at 170 ° C (ventilated) for 15 minutes (for soft biscuits) or 20 minutes (for crunchy biscuits).
Important precaution
It is recommended to pay particular attention when opening the oven door and to avoid breathing the steam that will come out of the oven: in fact, the exhalations of the leavening agent will be quite intense and acrid. However, once cooled, the cookies will smell of fruit, spices and cocoa, and the odor of ammonium bicarbonate will vanish completely.- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Prepare the chocolate coating. Chop the chocolate and melt by adding two or three tablespoons of seed oil: the chocolate must appear fluid, shiny and shiny.
Did you know that
The oil in the chocolate is an important precaution, useful to facilitate the glazing and to make the surface of the biscuits more shiny and brilliant.
As an alternative to dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate can be used.
Those who do not like to use oil can choose to cover the biscuits with a water-based chocolate glaze.- Dip the biscuits in the dark chocolate, using a fork. Leave them to drain on a grill for a couple of hours, then put them in the fridge.
- Mostaccioli are ready: they can be kept in the fridge for up to a month.
Alice's comment - PersonalCooker
Mostaccioli bear this name because, in ancient times, they were prepared with grape must, an ingredient that has been lost over time. Mostaccioli are sweets that cannot be missing from the Christmas table in Campania: from today, I'm sure they will also be omnipresent. They are fabulous to serve during the holidays or to give as a gift: it will be a very sweet gift!Nutritional values and Health Comment on the recipe
Mustaccioli are foods belonging to the dessert group.
They have a high energy intake, mainly provided by carbohydrates, followed by lipids and finally by proteins.
Carbohydrates are mainly simple, unsaturated fatty acids and peptides of medium biological value.
Fibers are present in considerable quantities and cholesterol seems irrelevant.
Mostaccioli are not suitable for all diets; they are excluded from those for overweight, hyperglycemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertriglyceridemia.
They are not recommended for the celiac diet, but they have no contraindications for the lactose intolerant.
Accepted by the lacto ovo vegetarian philosophy, they are not tolerated by the vegan one.
The average serving as a snack or breakfast food is 20-30g (about 85-125kcal).
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