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Mostaccioli
Spiced chocolate biscuits
Mostaccioli: Naples's spiced chocolate-coated Christmas biscuits
Neapolitan Christmas trays always include mostaccioli: soft, spiced biscuits shaped like diamonds and covered in a shiny coat of dark chocolate. The dough is flavoured with honey, cocoa, orange and pisto, a Neapolitan spice mix of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, star anise and coriander. They are made in early December with roccocò and struffoli and kept in tins for the whole holiday. Not for babies under 1 because of the honey. Chef's tip: let the biscuits rest a day before coating; spiced honey biscuits soften and their flavour deepens after a night in the tin.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 24
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 ½ oz caster sugar
- ⅔ oz cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- 4 oz runny honey
- 1 orangezest and 80 ml juice
- 2 tbsp waterif needed
For the coating
- 9 oz dark chocolatechopped
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line two trays.
Step 2: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, 3 ½ oz caster sugar, ⅔ oz cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground coriander. Warm 4 oz runny honey with the zest and juice of 1 orange until runny, then pour into the flour and mix into a firm dough, adding 2 tbsp water if it is too dry.
Step 3: Roll out 1 cm thick and cut into diamonds about 6 cm long. Place on the trays.
Step 4: Bake for 15–18 minutes, until firm on the outside but still slightly soft in the middle. Common mistake: overbaking; they go hard as rock once cool.
18 minStep 5: Cool, then store in a tin overnight.
Step 6: Melt 9 oz dark chocolate with 1 tsp sunflower oil over a pan of simmering water. Dip each biscuit, let the excess drip off and set on baking paper for 1 hour, until shiny and firm.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mostaccioli take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 24 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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