Orange and Almonds Cantucci

Sometimes you just want lo sleep like a baby, with that world-trusting sweet stillness. But I hate pills of any kind and I find sleeping pills the worst on earth. The only way I can manage to go through the craziness of our life is meditating, then.
Inner peace and some kind of stepping back from your thoughts, ‘to be able to observe them and being more mindful of them throughout the day’ (by Zen Habits blog, http://zenhabits.net/about/ – I love this blog, in fact) I think is what everybody needs.
You don’t want to meditate?! Drink good dessert wine and eat my Cantucci!
I am kidding of course, I would never ever put them on the same level.
But I love Cantucci and I am very grateful to Mr Nazzica for having shared his mum’s recipe, which is with no butter and it’s great to meditate indeed!

Baking Cantucci

Cantucci

Ingredients

250 gr flour

185 gr caster sugar

3 eggs

one vanilla pod

10 gr baking powder

190 gr nuts  (I used 100 gr almonds and 90 gr hazelnuts)

35 gr chocolate drops

35 gr candied orange peel

1 egg for egg wash

Method

Pre heat the oven at 190°.

On a baking sheets, toast the almonds and the hazelnuts for 3-4 minutes, then remove them and set them aside to cool.

In a large bowl, cream the 3 eggs with the sugar.

Sieve the flour with the baking powder, add the vanilla seeds and add all this to the eggs mixture.

Fold in the almonds and the hazelnuts, until well combined and homogenous.

Divide the batter in two bowl, equally.

Add the orange peel to one of the them and the chocolate drops to the other one.

Combined thoroughly.

Then, with your wet hands, form a small ball and the a log out of each ball dough.

Each log about 20 cm long.

Chocolate and Almonds Cantucci

Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment.

Brush them with egg wash and bake them in the oven at 190° for about 25/30 minutes, until nice and gold.

Remove them from the oven and let the logs cool down a little bit.

Cut, then, into (your choice in size) diagonal slices.

Cutting Cantucci into Slices

I like Cantucci a bit chunky, like in my picture. Some people like them small and tiny.

Arrange the slices on the baking tray and allow them to cook for another 10 minutes.

Once ready, they can be stored for as long as a month in an airtight tin.

I love to dip them in vin santo or any other good desert wine.

Categories: After Meal time Recipes, Breakfast and Tea time Recipes, Sweets, after meal easy recipes, Sweets, ampm easy recipes

Tags: Dinner Desserts,, Easy Recipe,, Small Bites,, Totally Italian,