Cantucci Toscani: Recipe for Tuscan Almond Cookies

The Tuscan answer to biscotti, these twice-baked almond cookies are extra crunchy. In Toscana, cantucci are traditionally dunked in Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine, but they are also perfect for dunking in coffee or tea.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups raw almonds
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 cups pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

How to make Cantucci Toscani

1. Preheat the oven or a toaster oven to 350°F.
2. Toast the almonds in the preheated oven until fragrant and lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Beat 4 of the eggs with the sugar. Pour in the butter and beat until combined. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until well combined, then stir in the almonds. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 1 hour.
4. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven again to 350°F. Line 2 jelly-roll pans or cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Transfer the dough to a work surface and cut it into two equal portions. Shape each portion into a log the length of the prepared pans. Whisk the remaining egg and brush it lightly onto the tops and sides of the logs, cleaning the brush of excess egg so it doesn't drip down the sides.
6. Bake the logs for 20 minutes. Let them cool on the pans, set on racks.
7. When the logs are cool, use a sharp knife to cut them at an angle into slices about ½-inch thick. Place the cookies on the pans, cut sides down, and bake at 350°F, turning once, until golden, about 25 minutes.

Tips

Storing and serving

These crunchy cookies keep for up to one week in a tightly covered tin. Serve with Vin Santo, coffee or tea.

Cantucci or biscotti?

In the U.S., these oblong, nut-studded cookies often go by biscotti. That isn't wrong, but biscotti is the general Italian word for any twice-cooked cookie. Cantucci are the almond version that comes from Prato, a small city in Toscana. They were baked twice for a practical reason — it let them keep longer.

Dunk like a Tuscan

• Hold one end and dip an inch or two of the other end in your drink.
• Let it soak for at least five seconds.
• Bite into the soft end and enjoy the lightly sweet, buttery and nutty flavors against your drink.
• Grab another cookie and repeat as many times as you like.