Mostaccioli Cookies
How do you make chocolate-coated mostaccioli cookies?
Grind the almonds and mix them with flour, cocoa, spices, honey, sugar, and orange juice. Knead while adding water until you get a workable dough. Roll it out, cut into diamonds, and bake at 180°C for 12–14 minutes. Once cool, coat the cookies in melted chocolate and let them dry on a rack until the coating hardens.
This exquisite recipe is a delicious reminder of Neapolitan Christmas tradition. I always make it during the Christmas season, thinking of my husband, who loves these cookies. Easy and indulgent—what better combination could I share with you? Their main feature is their diamond shape, their aroma from pisto spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise, coriander seeds), and their chocolate coating.
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Servings: Makes 25 large or 40 medium cookies
Ingredients
- 500 g 00 flour (all-purpose)
- 150 g almonds
- 150 g honey
- 125 g cane sugar or white sugar
- 35 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 organic orange (80–100 ml juice and grated zest)
- 10 g baking ammonia for sweets or instant baking powder for sweets
- 1 pinch of salt
- 130 ml warm water
- 400 g dark chocolate for coating (minimum 50% cocoa)
- Neapolitan pisto spice mix (22 g)
Instructions
Start by placing the almonds in the food processor.
Once they are finely ground, set them aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder.
Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and the pinch of salt to the bowl.
Add the ground almonds and grate the orange to obtain the zest. Add it as well.
Squeeze the orange.
Add the sugar and orange juice to the other ingredients.
Add the pisto spice mix.
Finally, add the honey.
Mix everything very well, first with a spoon and then directly with your hand. Gradually add the water so all the ingredients come together; the dough should be only slightly moist and easy to work with. Depending on the consistency of the dough, decide whether to add all the water or not, or even a little more.
Mix well until you form a ball.
Place it on a surface covered with parchment paper.
Roll it out with a rolling pin, leaving it 1.5–2 cm thick.
Cut into diamond shapes, large or medium.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the diamond-shaped cookies on it.
Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 12–14 minutes. When removed, they will still be a little soft. Let them rest for a few minutes on the tray, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool well.
Once all the cookies are baked and completely cool, place a little water in a medium saucepan, then place a smaller saucepan inside it, large enough to fit the cookies later, with the chocolate inside. Heat and melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
Using two forks, place the cookies one by one into the chocolate.
Gently submerge each cookie with the fork.
Drain it with the forks.
Place them on a tray lined with parchment paper so they begin to set.
Repeat this process until all the cookies are coated. Leave them all on the tray for 2–3 hours until completely dry. If you want to decorate them, do it right after placing them on the tray, while the chocolate is still soft. You can also decorate with chocolates of other colors on top, but this step is done once the main chocolate coating is already dry.
They keep in an airtight container for up to one month. I wish you a Merry Christmas. Note: If we cannot find all the ingredients for the pisto spice mix, it does not matter; the ones that should never be missing are cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Enjoy your meal!
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- 500 g 00 flour (all-purpose)
- 150 g almonds
- 150 g honey
- 125 g cane sugar or white sugar
- 35 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 organic orange (80–100 ml juice and grated zest)
- 10 g baking ammonia for sweets or instant baking powder for sweets
- 1 pinch of salt
- 130 ml warm water
- 400 g dark chocolate for coating (minimum 50% cocoa)
- Neapolitan pisto spice mix (22 g)