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Happy Monday!
Another cookie recipe? That’s right. When I was younger I used to never eat cookies, probably because my mother would buy other sweets instead. So when I became interested in healthy eating and cooking I started making them non-stop, in all shapes, sizes and flavors.
Mostaccioli are a kind of cookies from Naples, typically prepared around Christmas time or even since the beginning of December. They’re among my absolute favorites so I will eat them any time of the year! There are a few different kinds, from extra soft and pillowy to harder to some filled with jam. Mine are not pillowy but still very soft! The name comes from mosto, which is wine must, and therefore one of the ingredients is red wine! Basically they are spiced cookies with orange zest and nuts, coated in dark chocolate. DELICIOUS!
This is actually the first time I’ve made mostaccioli myself, I checked a lot of recipes online but as some ingredient doses seemed a bit off for my own liking (for instance I used way less sugar) I decided to wing it a bit and I am so incredibly happy with the result! The only thing is, I only had 50% dark chocolate for the coating and they came out a bit on the sweet side so I would strongly recommend using very bitter chocolate.
MOSTACCIOLI COOKIES {plant based}
by Marta Giaccone
Recipe
15-20 cookies
prep time: 20 mins, cooking time: 13 mins, total time: 33 mins + cooling time
250 gr AP flour
75 gr sugar
15 gr cacao
1 scant tsp cinnamon
½ tsp powdered cloves
zest of 1 orange
½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
pinch black pepper
50 gr honey (or rice malt syrup or other similar sweetener)
2 tbsp red wine
180 ml / 12 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
75 gr walnuts/almonds
200 gr very bitter chocolate, roughly chopped
Method
- Turn oven on at 350°F/180°C.
- Dry toast the nuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, just for a few minutes until they start becoming golden. Let cool and roughly chop. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients (flour to pepper), mix, add all wet ingredients (honey, wine and orange juice) and mix with a spatula. Then mix/knead with your hands. Add nuts and knead again to incorporate. You may add a tiny bit of flour if you think it’s still too sticky (mine was fine).
- Shape the dough into a ball, transfer it to a working surface, over a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle some more flour on the dough, then roll it out to about 7mm thick. With a sharp (not serrated) knife cut it into a diamond shape. Carefully transfer the cut out cookies onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 13 minutes, then let cool. In the meantime let chopped up chocolate melt over a double boiler. When melted, keep the flame on very low.
- When the cookies have cooled take one with two fingers, from two corners, and dip the bottom side in the chocolate. Shake off the excess chocolate, then place it back over the parchment to let firm up. Repeat with all cookies (you may put them in the fridge for a few minutes to help firm up).
- When the chocolate layer is hard, take one cookie at a time, turn it upside down, balance it over a fork over the chocolate bowl and coat it in chocolate on the top and sides using a spoon. Again, hold with two fingers and shake off all excess chocolate. Let firm up.
- Store the mostaccioli in an airtight container either in the fridge or at room temperature. If it’s warm out, the chocolate will slightly melt when you hold them in your hands.
