Take the butter from the fridge, weigh it, cut it into cubes, and put it back in the fridge; it must be very cold, otherwise the mostaccioli dough will be too soft to handle.

Weigh all the ingredients and make sure to be precise in the quantities.

Sift together the cocoa, rice flour, cornstarch, and potato starch, and set aside.

Finely grate all the peel of an orange and then squeeze its juice (which we will keep in the fridge in the meantime)

Coarsely chop together toasted almonds and hazelnuts (make sure they are toasted otherwise they will taste bland) but without leaving large pieces that might be bothersome, especially if eaten by children.

Separate the yolk from the egg white (which we will put in the fridge) and save the yolk for some other preparation.

Finely crush the two cloves and prepare all the other spices.

Let’s prepare the actual dough for the mostaccioli.

1_ In a large bowl, pour the sifted powders (cocoa, rice flour, potato starch, and cornstarch) and the instant coffee powder (it will give a pleasant boost to the aroma and flavor of the mostaccioli, just like a spice).

2- Pour the sugar.

3- Add the chopped nuts.

4- Add the fine salt.

5- Add all the spices, baker’s ammonia, and the grated orange zest.

6_ Finally, pour in the unbeaten egg white, cold diced butter, and a little orange juice at a time, until you get a firm dough. Make sure not to pour all the juice right away.

Mix very quickly if working by hand; or at speed 1 if using a stand mixer, to prevent the machine from overheating the butter, until all ingredients are combined. Don’t worry if the butter does not appear perfectly or completely incorporated; it’s not a problem.

Shape the dough into a rectangle or square with a thickness of 1.5 fingers, using rice flour if necessary. Mostaccioli must be tall, as they will flatten slightly during baking.

Cut out the mostaccioli with the appropriate cutter and re-knead the scraps to form more mostaccioli, until the dough is completely used up.

As you form the mostaccioli, place them on a baking sheet already covered with parchment paper, spacing them 2 fingers apart.

If the temperature in your home is too high, put the baking sheet(s) in the fridge and in the meantime, preheat the oven to 356°F.

Bake the mostaccioli in the hot oven, at mid-height, until the cookies lose their shine and the aroma of the spices is strongly noticeable.

The mostaccioli are done when they detach perfectly and without issues from the parchment paper (take one from the baking sheet, without burning yourself and with due care).

Take them out of the oven immediately and let them cool completely before proceeding with the glazing.

For the glazing

Put the coarsely chopped dark chocolate in a saucepan, add the milk, and melt it in a double boiler or microwave, as you prefer.

As soon as the chocolate is perfectly melted, take it away from the heat sources, let it rest for just 5 minutes, and then add a level teaspoon of vegetable oil and mix well.

Prepare a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Dip each mostaccioli top and bottom in the melted chocolate, remove the excess with a spatula or a fork and place them on the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Let the chocolate coating cool and then put our soft gluten-free mostaccioli in a box or on a serving plate.

If you notice that the temperature is too high in your home or very humid, store them in the fridge, well closed in a cake carrier or box, in a place that is cool and dry to prevent the chocolate coating from softening too much.

The ingredients and, in particular the spices, present in the soft mostaccioli, will bring out all their flavor and aroma over time.

Bon appetit

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