The Messina Piparelli
Grandma’s Memories, Traditional Recipe and Thermomix
These cookies are from an ancient recipe of Messina’s pastry, their name derives from the fact that they are flavored with black pepper, unusual for a sweet.
They are typically baked twice, first as loaves and then after being sliced “la caliatura”, retaining the typical crunchiness.
For me, they are part of the sweet memories of Grandma Maria, who made them in her patisserie in Messina, and with love and pleasure, I share her recipe with you.
This dough can be made by hand, with a stand mixer, or with the Thermomix.
But for these last two preparations, the final step, the addition of the almonds, must be done on the work surface, as the almonds could break with the stand mixer’s beaters or the Thermomix’s blades, even if using the counter-clockwise mode.
The Messina Piparelli are ideal for long-term storage, making them perfect for gifts, shipping, or enjoying slowly without the fear of them going bad.
You might also be interested in:
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: About 30 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 126.43 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 20.58 (g) of which sugars 8.20 (g)
- Proteins 2.98 (g)
- Fat 4.28 (g) of which saturated 0.87 (g)of which unsaturated 3.11 (g)
- Fibers 1.05 (g)
- Sodium 91.51 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 26 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
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 5.3 oz almonds
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3.5 oz lard
- 2 tsp baking soda
- Half tbsp orange zest (grated)
- Half tsp ground cinnamon
- Half tsp ground cloves
- Half tsp nutmeg (ground)
- 1 egg (30)
- 1 glass water (approximately)
- 2 tsp pepper (Ground black)
The Messina Piparelli
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 2 Baking sheets
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Knife narrow serrated
- 1 Oven
Steps
Manual recipe
Sift the flour and place it on a work surface with the sugar, lard cut into pieces, honey, aromas, spoon of orange zest, pepper, and baking soda, and knead
If you see that the dough is hard you can add a little water gradually until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough.
At this point, spread the dough and distribute the whole almonds, continue to knead until they are well incorporated.
Sift the flour and place it in the bowl of your appliance with the sugar, lard cut into pieces, honey, aromas, spoon of orange zest, pepper, and baking soda, and knead: with the stand mixer using the attachment you normally use for shortcrust pastry.
While with the Thermomix in spike mode for 4 minutes.
If you see that the dough is hard, you can add a little water gradually until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough.
At this point, transfer the dough to the work surface, spread it, and incorporate the whole almonds, continue to knead until they are well incorporated.
Preheat the oven to 356°F convection.
Now create loaves about 2 inches wide and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
From this photo, you can see the size of each loaf.
Brush them with beaten egg, and….
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, where they will bake for about 20 minutes
As soon as the piparelli are golden, remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow to cool.
When the piparelli have cooled, slice them with a narrow serrated knife, in an oblique manner. As for the thickness, the original old-school Messina ones were about 1/4 inch thick.
In recent years, to meet nutritional needs, it has been preferred to slice them thinner, about 1/10 inch.
At this point, place the slices on the baking sheet and….
Bake again “la caliatura” in a static oven at 302°F.
If you have sliced them thick, bake them for 15 minutes.
After the time has elapsed, you must turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes
If, on the other hand, you have sliced them thin, halve the above-described times. Afterward, turn off the oven, open the door, and leave them there until they have cooled.
Storage and Tips
The Messina Piparelli, keep in a closed cookie jar and last 3 months
