One of the typical Neapolitan Christmas sweets is ROCCOCO’, alongside MOSTACCIOLI and ZEPPOLE, so appreciated that it is now produced all year round.
It is a ring-shaped cookie, crunchy at the bite, made from flour and toasted almonds, made aromatic and fragrant by the famous spice mix called PISTO and by orange zest.
In reality there are two versions: a softer one, which we will prepare today, and one called “spacca morso” (literally “bite breaker”), which as you can imagine is harder; to get that version simply leave them in the oven a few minutes longer.
A true delicacy that is hard to resist; when you bake them they will fill the house with their intense, Christmas-like aroma. Today’s recipe for the soft Roccocò cookie I got from Aunt Rosa (I call her that even though she is not my aunt), a true Neapolitan who has been making them at home for generations.
Am I at least a little curiousing you? If yes, follow me through the preparation and I assure you you won’t be disappointed.
And you can prepare them in advance: they last up to 10 days and can be offered during the holidays or become a Christmas gift for friends and family.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 16 cookies
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups 00 flour (Italian all-purpose flour)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups almonds
- 5 tbsp honey
- 1 zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate)
- 3/4 cup water
- 5 tsp pisto (mixed spice blend)
- 1 egg
Tools
- 2 Baking sheets
- Food processor
Steps
Toast the almonds by placing them in a pan over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often; then turn off the heat and let them cool slightly.
Set some almonds aside and chop the rest until almost a flour-like texture.
Place the flour, sugar, and grated orange zest in a bowl and mix.
Then add the almond flour, baker’s ammonia and pisto.
Mix all the ingredients well and finally incorporate the honey and 130 ml (about 1/2 cup) of water.
Decide whether to use the remaining water depending on how the dough reacts (it should be smooth and homogeneous, not too dry but not sticky).
Mix first with a spoon, then by hand.
You should obtain a consistency similar to shortcrust pastry.
Divide the dough into pieces and, working them with your hands, form small cylinders (like little ropes).
Close them into rings to form the Roccocò cookies; normally their diameter is about 4 inches.
Place the Roccocò on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, slightly spaced as they will expand during baking.
Take the almonds set aside earlier and arrange them on the cookies as decoration, pressing gently so they adhere to the dough.
Brush the Roccocò cookies with the beaten egg.
Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 356 °F for about 15–20 minutes.
They should be glossy and slightly golden.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool before serving.
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STORAGE
Roccocò cookies keep for quite a while; stored in a tin box they last up to 10 days.
TIPS
Some people add about 3.5 oz (approximately 2/3 cup) of candied citron to the dough (quantity calculated based on this recipe’s ingredients).
If you prefer firmer Roccocò cookies, bake them a few minutes longer (at most another 5 minutes); you can experiment with different bakes to find the texture you prefer.
Pisto is not always easy to find; I bought mine on Amazon at the following link.
