Cantucci
MAKES around 50 biscuits
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking 50 minutes
500g Italian '00' flour (or soft cake flour)
250g caster sugar
250g unpeeled, untoasted almonds (as fresh as possible)
1 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
pinch of salt
3 medium eggs
2 egg yolks (1 white reserved)
Preheat your oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Then take all of the ingredients, apart from the eggs, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Don't chop the nuts - they should be used whole.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and crack in the three whole eggs. Then add the yolks to the mixture, keeping the reserved white to one side.
Work the mixture together using both of your hands - after a while it will form a large, sticky and fairly wet lump. Don't knead it too much as you don't want to activate the gluten in the flour.
Once the dough is manageable, remove it to a work surface and divide into four equal parts. Roll each of the pieces into an evenly sized log shape - about 4cm in width.
On a non-stick baking tray, or one lined with non-stick parchment paper, place the logs on the paper with plenty of space between them. Mix the egg white with 1 tbsp of caster sugar and brush the logs with this mixture. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the oven down to 170ºC/Gas Mark 3 after
20 minutes. Check every 10 minutes after that to ensure they don't catch. Then remove to a wire rack to cool.
Diagonally slice the cooled logs into individual biscuits about 1.5cm in width. Place these on a baking sheet and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until hard and toasted. Remove and cool.
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