Mostaccioli (Mustaccioli) Cookies

Mostaccioli (Mustaccioli) are traditional Italian Christmas cookies packed with wonderful aromas and flavours: honey, orange, almonds, chocolate and warming spices. They are especially popular in southern Italy and originate from Naples, where they have been baked for centuries and are a staple in local bakeries during the festive season. Mostaccioli are soft, sweet and wonderfully fragrant, with their characteristic diamond shape and chocolate coating. They contain neither eggs nor dairy, making them a good option for those with allergies at Christmas, and they also make lovely edible gifts. They fill the whole kitchen with an irresistible aroma while baking – and even afterwards – and, honestly, they are very difficult to resist!

Makes 25 cookies.

Ingredients for Mostaccioli cookies:

• 250 g plain flour
• 130 g caster sugar
• 75 g blanched almonds
• 15 g cocoa powder
• 75 g honey
• 80 ml olive oil
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt

For coating:

• 200 g dark chocolate (50%), or more if coating both sides*

All ingredients should be at room temperature, apart from the water. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until lightly browned. Finely chop them. If the honey has crystallised, warm it gently until liquid, then leave to cool.

Place all the cookie ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix thoroughly until combined (or mix by hand). The dough may be sticky. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour or, preferably, overnight.

Line two flat baking trays with baking paper. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, dusting with icing sugar if necessary to prevent sticking, to a thickness of approximately 8 mm. Using a cookie cutter, cut out diamond-shaped crystals and arrange them on the prepared trays. If you don’t have a suitable cutter, simply cut the dough into wide strips and then cut diagonally across them to create large diamonds, each at least 4–5 cm wide.

Bake the Mostaccioli at 180°C for approximately 8–10 minutes. The longer they are baked, the firmer and crispier they will become. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. You can add 1 tbsp olive oil per 100 g chocolate to make the coating thinner and easier to spread. Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate and place them on a wire rack to set. You can decorate them with, for example, candied orange peel.

Mostaccioli can be stored in an airtight tin or food container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

* This recipe is completely dairy-free, provided you check that the chocolate used for coating does not contain milk.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Marcellina in Cucina.