I confess I’m a sweets addict since childhood and, if I can, every day has to end with me on the couch nibbling something. I’m especially fond of everything related to dry pastries and shortcrust pastry in general, and perhaps the “biscuit” I like most are papassini, typical Sardinian cookies with raisins and dried fruit for which I’m crazy. Finding them in Genoa is impossible, so when I go to Sardinia I always stock up, but being pastry shop sweets I can’t overdo it or they’ll go bad. I’ve tried many times to find a convincing recipe online but honestly none ever inspired me that much (by the way, if any of you have a “tested” recipe please send it to me!) so I decided to create my perfect after-dinner cookie by blending the Ligurian canestrello tradition with the Sardinian papassini. To be clear, this is absolutely not a papassino — I’m saying this for my Sardinian friends — but I assure you this canestrello will win you over with its aroma and texture. It’s really quick to prepare and once you have the ingredients you’ll be able to enjoy them in just 30 minutes!!!!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: about 30 canestrelli
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 3/4 cups Manitoba flour
- 2 1/2 cups 00 flour (Italian "00" flour)
- 10.6 oz butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 cups raisins
- 3.5 oz almonds
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom essence (or orange essence)
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp coarse sugar
Preparation
First, sift the two flours together with the baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar, the butter cut into pieces (at room temperature), the eggs, the honey, the orange blossom essence and a pinch of salt. Knead everything for at least 10 minutes (if you use a stand mixer, 3 minutes at medium speed will be enough). At this point add the raisins and the almonds previously coarsely chopped with a knife. Knead again until you have a homogeneous dough.
Unlike shortcrust pastry, this dough can be worked immediately and does not need to rest, so start working right away. On a lightly floured work surface roll the dough with a rolling pin until it reaches a height just under 1 centimeter (about 3/8 inch). Take the special daisy-shaped canestrello cutter and begin cutting them out.
Place baking paper on a baking tray and arrange the canestrelli on it as you make them, slightly spaced apart. Brush them with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.Bake at 338°F – conventional oven – for about 18–20 minutes. Be careful: they should turn slightly golden but not too dark.
Remove them from the oven and let them cool before serving.
Notes
If you prefer, you can substitute the almonds with pine nuts; both types of nuts should be used raw (not toasted). If you can’t find orange blossom essence you can safely substitute it with orange flavoring (which is easier to find). Once ready, your canestrelli can be stored airtight in a cookie tin for up to one week.
