Mustacciuoli

Spiced honey diamonds glazed in dark chocolate, rested before baking.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains honey.

Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour
• 200 g honey
• 80 ml warm water
• 60 g cocoa powder
• 100 g candied orange peel, minced
• 80 g toasted almonds, ground
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice — cinnamon, cloves, star anise
• 1 teaspoon ammonium carbonate, or baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 250 g dark chocolate, to glaze

Method

1. Warm the honey with the water until pourable.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, ground almonds, spices, raising agent and salt, then work in the honey and the candied peel to a stiff, dark, tacky dough.
3. REST THE DOUGH 24 HOURS, wrapped, at room temperature. The flour hydrates in the honey rather than in water, which is slow, and a dough baked the same day is dry in the middle and cracks on top.
4. Roll to 1.5 cm and cut DIAMONDS — a rhombus, not a round. The shape is what the name is known by.
5. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes. They should still give slightly when pressed; they firm as they cool.
6. Cool completely, then dip the top of each in melted chocolate and set them on a rack.
7. They improve over a week and keep a month in a tin.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes