Cantucci

I haven't stopped eating these since making over the holidays—crisp and light, rich with toasted almonds, and flavored with fennel or anise seeds, it's impossible to eat just a few

Cantucci with almonds, orange, and fresh fennel seeds; right, cantucci from a gf bakery in Florence a few summers ago

Cantucci are lean, not very sweet, and have no added butter (as opposed to biscotti which usually contain butter). Add almond, fennel, and orange, and these cantucci are addicting. To get the recipe right, I spent one week making batch after batch. I dipped them them in my coffee in the morning and vin santo at night.

The almonds achieve the perfect toastiness by the second time in the oven, so make sure to start out with raw, un-roasted nuts. It doesn't matter if your almonds have their skins on or not.

In the fall, I usually pick wild fennel for these. It grows all over California, in areas like abandoned lots where its bright yellow flowers and feathery stalks are easy to spot (just avoid dog-friendly areas or anywhere that may have have pesticide sprays). Make sure to wash well before using. Substitute anise seeds or dried fennel seeds if you don’t have access to fresh.

Variations: These are equally delicious with hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts or macadamia nuts, or any combination. Pine nuts are a delicious addition as well, and cocoa nibs make a good combination with almonds or hazelnuts.

Mixed dough is very thick; dough evenly divided into logs and egg washed; the baked logs

RECIPE

Yields 36 cookies, depending how thin you slice them. This is a smallish batch; I’d normally triple this and keep them in an airtight container

Dough

•100g / 1/2 C sugar

•1 large egg

•1/3 tsp salt

•2 tsp grappa (or brandy or marsala), optional

•Zest of 1/2 orange (optional)

•1.5 tsp fennel seeds

•150g / 1C + 5 tsp gluten free flour

•1/2 tsp baking powder

•175g / 1 1/4 C whole almonds, untoasted

Eggwash

•1 egg

•pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350f. Prepare a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment lining.

Whisk together egg wash for glazing formed logs and set aside.

Using a handheld mixer (a stand mixer might be too big for the small amount being mixed unless tripling the recipe) or a very strong arm, mix the sugar, egg, and salt on high until pale and thick, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the grappa, brandy, or marsala along with the orange zest and fennel seeds. It’s tempting to add more liquor, but the batter will spread too much when baking.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into egg mixture. Mix in almonds. The thickness of the dough may differ depending on what brand GF flour you use—this was tested with my GF blend and King Arthur 1:1.

Form into logs about 3-inches across. Lightly brush with egg wash. Bake until firm and golden, 30-35 minutes. Cool for a few minutes until you can handle the logs to slice.

Preheat oven to 250f.

With a sharp, serrated knife, slice the logs 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thick and lay on sheet tray. If the log is too firm to slice, pop it back into the oven for a minute to soften. It’s a balance to find just the right degree of firmness to cleanly slice. It’s ok if they are placed close together for the toasting step.

Bake until lightly toasted and the almonds are golden, about 30 minutes. Bake another 10 minutes or until crisp if they need more time (they won’t be their crispest until completely cool). Depending on your oven, you may need to turn the cantucci over, but it’s often not necessary. Cool completely before storing. Will keep for weeks tightly covered at room temperature. Ships well.