Original recipe for traditional Agira Cassatelle made with chickpea flour, almonds and cocoa. Grandma’s recipe for Agira Cassatelle—an ancient, traditional and delicious pastry that is part of our collection dedicated to Sicilian cuisine and grandma’s recipes. Do not confuse them with the Minnuzze di Sant’Agata or ricotta cassatelle from Catania.
Typical Easter sweets from Agira in the Enna province, they are now found in much of eastern Sicily. These sweets have an unforgettable texture; their melt-in-the-mouth quality makes them truly precious. Traditional Agira cassatelle should have a semicircular shape with a crimped curved edge, should be about 4 x 2.4 inches in size, and must be made using a mold that you can only purchase in Agira, because it is crafted by the local blacksmiths rather than by big industry. Prepared with a base of tender shortcrust pastry, known as “pasta tenerina”, in a very pale golden color, they are dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a mixture of unsweetened cocoa, toasted almonds, chickpea flour, sugar, preferably dried lemon zest, cinnamon and sometimes ground cloves. The balanced flavor of the cocoa should not overpower the almonds; the shortcrust should be neither hard nor too soft and must melt in your mouth. In short, Agira cassatelle, as per Agira tradition, are little gems of Sicilian pastry you cannot miss—one of the recipes you will also find in my book. Curious and ready to make them yourselves? Then come on, let’s get our hands in the dough and follow the recipe!
If you love typical Sicilian recipes, also try the ricotta cassatelle and almond paste cookies.
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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 50 Minutes
Portions: 30 pieces
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients to make the cassatelle

5 1/4 cups Type 00 flour (I always use type 0)
1 1/2 cups Lard
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/4 cups Powdered (confectioners') sugar
1 packet Vanillin (or vanilla extract)
lemon zest (organic, grated)
1 1/4 cups Granulated sugar
3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/3 cups Almonds (toasted)
5/8 cup Chickpea flour (toasted chickpeas' flour or regular chickpea flour if toasted chickpeas are unavailable)
2 1/8 cups Water
1 packet Vanillin (or vanilla extract)
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
lemon zest (grated or dried and chopped)
as needed Powdered (confectioners') sugar
as needed Granulated sugar

Preparation

Prepare the filling the evening before assembling the cookies. Toast the almonds with their skins and finely chop them; reduce the toasted chickpeas to flour. (Toasted chickpeas are a common snack in Sicily—if you cannot find them, use regular chickpea flour.) Combine the chopped almonds, the sugar, chickpea flour, cinnamon and, if desired, finely chopped cloves in a large saucepan. Gradually loosen with the water, place on the heat and whisk until you obtain a thick cream. Once cooked, add the grated lemon zest, stir and let it cool overnight.
The next morning prepare the shortcrust pastry: pour the flour onto a work surface, make a well and add the ingredients. Work until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough, then refrigerate it for an hour. After resting, roll the dough to a thickness of about 0.01 inches (0.2–0.3 mm), cut out discs, place a scant tablespoon of filling on each disc, brush the edges with water and fold into a half-moon shape. The cassatelle should ideally be cut with the scalloped mold shown in the photo. After searching everywhere online and in kitchen shops without success, I had to travel to Agira to buy it and discovered that it is sold in hardware stores because it is a hand-worked steel item. If you need one, contact a local hardware store and ask them to ship it to you.
Arrange all the cassatelle on a nonstick baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper, put them in the oven and bake at 356°F for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven when the tips begin to brown slightly—do not let them darken too much.
Right after removing them from the oven, while still hot, lightly brush them with water and sprinkle with granulated sugar. (You can omit this step if you prefer less sweetness). Traditionally the cassatelle should be pulled from the oven still white and pristine; I bake them a little longer because we prefer them this way.
Finally dust with powdered sugar and serve. Agira cassatelle keep well for about twenty days if placed on a tray and covered with a cloth napkin; do not store them in airtight containers, as the humidity from the filling will spoil them.