NEAPOLITAN ALMOND AND HONEY SWEETS for Christmas, an ancient typical recipe great for gifting, easy and quick, S-shaped cookies covered with sesame seeds.
The Neapolitan sweets are traditional confections covered with sesame seeds and decorated with 3 almonds, historically made by the nuns of the Santa Maria della Sapienza convent.
They are easy and quick to prepare. The Neapolitan sweets are similar to susamelli and have the same basic ingredients like flour, sugar, honey, almonds, and pisto. Once the dough is made, without eggs, butter, or oil, the S shapes, typical of this cookie, are formed and decorated with sesame seeds and almonds.
Like almost all Christmas sweets, these cookies are made with honey, dried fruit, and candied fruit which can be omitted if not preferred.
Join me in the kitchen today for some Neapolitan sweets.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6-8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4.4 oz honey
- 1.8 oz sugar
- 1.8 oz almonds
- 1.1 oz candied pumpkin
- 1/2 teaspoon pisto
- 1/2 teaspoon baking ammonia
- 1.1 oz almonds (for decoration)
- apricot jam
- as needed sesame seeds
Steps
Additional note: the shape of the sweets resembles a stone, hard to eat, then dipped in vin santo.
Place the almonds, sugar, and candied pumpkin in a food processor and chop everything.
Put the flour in a bowl, add the chopped mixture, pisto, and baking ammonia, and mix. Add the honey and start working the dough.
Move to a kneading board and work until you get a homogeneous dough, then divide it into pieces and create strips 3/4 inch wide.
Form S shapes and place them on the baking sheet, add 3 almonds, then brush with jam and decorate with sesame seeds.
Bake in a hot oven at 350°F for 12-15 minutes, they should be golden, do not exceed 15 minutes or they will become too hard, remove from oven and let cool.
Bon appetit
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Neapolitan Almond and Honey Sweets
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Neapolitan Almond and Honey Sweets
Can I make these Christmas cookies in advance?
Certainly! Then store them in a tin box to keep their fragrance.
Can I substitute the almonds?
Yes, you can use walnuts, hazelnuts, if you prefer.
Can honey be replaced with sugar?
In theory, yes, but sugar tends to crystallize and the cookies harden, it’s better to use honey.
