Cantuccini, also known as Biscotti di Prato, are Italy’s best-loved cookies.
They serve many useful purposes.
You can dunk them in your morning coffee, in your afternoon gelato and in your evening Vin Santo.
They are also, almost fat-free. Mind you, they make up the near absence of butter with a plentiful presence of sugar…
Stefano Spilli’s recipe calls for almonds, but I didn’t have any in my kitchen yesterday when I started mixing the dough and, as it often happens in Italian kitchens, I made do with what I had and replaced almonds for Pistacchios. I wasn’t disappointed.
Ingredients:
450gr. Self raising Flour
350gr. Sugar
2 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon melted butter
Grated zest of two mandarins
a pinch of salt
200 gr. pistacchios
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
I chucked all the ingredients in the kitchen Aid, starting with eggs and sugar whipped until pale and creamy. I then added the sifted flour, the butter and the mandarin zest and vanilla. I then incorporated the nuts.
I used my hands to shape the dough into three sausages and I baked them in a medium oven for around 25 minutes.
I let them cool slightly, then I sliced them using a sharp bread knife.
I put the sliced dough back on the tray and into the oven and toasted each side for about 5 minutes.
**WARNING**
At this stage the vanilla and mandarin scent is mind-blowingly intoxicating…
Silvia’s Cucina is on Facebook
Silvia Colloca 
I made these last week, definitely very more-ish! Needless to say they are all gone now! X
Time to make more, Helen!
Oh these are just beautiful~It’s been so long since I made biscotti~I will need to do so when I come back from New York, I promise!
Every time I’ve made these, everyone has asked me for the receipe! So I will be directing them here to fullfill their Cantuccini dreams!!! x
So glad! How are things back in Oz?
x
can you make it without egg???
These look gorgeous, I have a lemon tree that is full of lemons, think I might use lemons instead of mandarins? I love biscotti, my sister-in-laws married into large Italian family’s, and not only did we benefit from gorgeous food, but also the love and warmth from family..
What lovely biscotti Silvia!
At which temperature bake?
180C!
Silvia do these freeze well?
No, no cookies freeze very well. However these keep in a lidded jar for a long time