Castagnelle – Italian Almond Cookies

Castagnelle are crunchy Italian cookies often served around Christmas time. These simple little cookies are made with roasted almonds, fresh citrus zest, warm spices and freshly brewed coffee and they are wonderfully delicious…

These cookies come together quickly and don’t have any butter, eggs or milk, so there is no need to bring anything to room temperature or even pull out your hand mixer. As long as you have a fresh pot of coffee and a sharp knife, you can whip a batch of castagnelle in just a few minutes.

Let’s get started…

Begin by combining 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of fresh citrus zest, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in a large bowl.

Add 1 1/2 cups of very finely chopped roasted almonds and mix to combine.

About the almonds….

• • • They do not have to be roasted, but the flavor is so much better if they are. If you only have raw almonds on hand, you can place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roast them in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Easy peasy.
    • If you use pre-salted almonds, don’t add more salt to the cookie dough!
    • You can hand chop the almonds down into a super fine texture with a sharp knife, but pulsing them in a food processor is a much easier way to get the job done. You don’t want them broken down into a powder, but they should be very fine.

Once you mix the finely chopped almonds into the flour mixture, begin slowly adding hot coffee until you have enough moisture to bring the dough together. Be careful not to add too much coffee. We will be rolling this dough out into long ropes and cutting the ropes into cookies, so if the mixture is too wet, you will not be able to roll it out easily.

I usually need only 1/2 cup of coffee, but if you added a little more almonds or your flour was a little more compacted than mine was, you may need a little more. Just add the coffee a little at a time and stop adding when things start to come together.

Once the dough comes together fully, divide it into 4 portions and roll each portion out on a lightly floured surface into a long rope shape that is about an inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the ropes into pieces. You can cut them into little rectangle or slice on a diagonal to form little diamonds.

Once the cookies are all cut out, place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 14-16 minutes. The cookies are done when they feel set to the touch and look dry.

Transfer the baked cookies onto a cooling rack. If you see any flour left behind from when you rolled the dough out, use a pastry brush or towel to gently remove it from the underside of the cookies.

Generously dust the cookies with confectioners sugar and hopefully you have some of that coffee left…

These cookies are great! They remind me of the little plates of cookies my grandmother always had on hand around the holidays. They have a chewy texture and a wonderful combination of almond, cocoa, citrus and spice flavors. They are nutty and bright with just the right amount of sweetness.

They are perfect with a cup of coffee, cocoa or hot tea and make a wonderful addition to any holiday dessert spread of Christmas cookie box.

Alla nostra!