If you’ve been following me on social media, you will know that I recently experimented with a recipe that resembles the classic cantucci in appearance and crunchiness! I called them slices and they are even healthier because they are butter-free. They are truly fantastic to snack on in the afternoon or at the end of a meal. The other night, my husband even dipped them in zibibbo, a real treat! In any case, for those who wish, it is possible to replace the egg whites with chickpea brine, the famous aquafaba, and thus make vegan slices. I enriched them with hazelnuts and pistachios, but you can also make them with almonds, pine nuts, or walnuts. Surely, given their success, I’ll soon propose another even richer version, so don’t miss it!
Other homemade sweet and savory snacks that might interest you:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: pan 10×4.5
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 52.13 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 7.36 (g) of which sugars 3.78 (g)
- Proteins 1.65 (g)
- Fat 2.13 (g) of which saturated 0.22 (g)of which unsaturated 1.79 (g)
- Fibers 0.51 (g)
- Sodium 34.09 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 12 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing through my blog helps support me and my work, and it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 4 oz egg whites
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts (or other nuts)
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl
- Electric whisk
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Loaf pan
- 2 Parchment paper
- 1 Cooling rack
- 1 Baking sheet
Preparation
Start by coarsely chopping the toasted hazelnuts and pistachios on a cutting board with a knife (fig. 1).
Using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites until stiff, which must be at room temperature for at least 30 minutes because they whip better than cold ones. Once they start foaming, add a pinch of salt and then gradually add half of the sugar, continuing to beat for another 2 minutes (fig. 2).
Then add the remaining sugar and beat for another 5 minutes until you obtain a stiff meringue. Gradually incorporate the flour, mixing very gently with a spatula from bottom to top to avoid deflating the mixture (fig. 3).
Finally, add the chopped nuts and pour the mixture into a loaf pan measuring 10×4.5 lined with parchment paper (fig. 4).
Level it and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 35 minutes. Then take it out of the oven (fig. 5).
Remove it from the pan and peel away the parchment paper. Place it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely. It will take about 30 minutes (fig. 6).
At this point, slice it into thin slices of about 1/8 inch to create the slices (fig. 7).
Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake again at 300°F for 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 3 minutes (fig. 8).
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Detail of my slices.
And voilà… the crunchy pistachio and hazelnut slices are ready to be enjoyed!
In the video, you will also find my vegan version with red fruits, blueberries, Goji berries, and hazelnuts.
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉You can store the hazelnut slices in an airtight glass container for at least 1 week, but I doubt they will last that long. They disappeared in three days at our house!
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣Naturally, as an alternative, you can use any nuts you desire like walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds and create super healthy and tasty variations every time.
Is it possible to make this recipe vegan?
For those who wish, you can replace the egg whites with chickpea brine, the famous aquafaba, to make fully vegan slices. You will see that you won’t notice the difference.
Is it possible to make this recipe completely gluten-free?
Certainly, it is possible. You just need to replace the all-purpose flour with 2.8 oz of universal gluten-free flour (Schär or Nutrifree) and 1.4 oz of rice flour.
