honey Archives - Marisa's Italian Kitchen

For those familiar with Italian Mostaccioli Cookies, they’re sure to bring a nostalgic feel to your family gathering.

These soft, two bite cookies are chock-full of finely ground almonds and filled with a lovely aromatic essence from both ground cloves and cinnamon.

A touch of limoncello with orange and lemon zests lends a lovely citrus taste to these soft cake-like cookies.

They’re also flavoured with both cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate which are then enveloped in more chocolate goodness.

About Mostaccioli Cookies

The origin of this cookie is said to date back 300 hundred years before the birth of Christ and rooted deep in Italian history. However not all food historians seem to agree on this. The consensus however, is that the mostaccioli cookies have greatly evolved throughout the years.

In the old country these cookies were made with Wine Must. It was used as a sweetening agent because of its high glucose content. Wine Must is basically pressed grapes containing all components of the fruit. This was a time when sugar or even honey were not readily available. A time when people made do with what they had on hand.

They were also made in different shapes and sizes with intricate patterns depicting historical animals. Or items such as baskets or even the palm. Some were made with jewel like decorations. These were sold at auctions in order to raise money for charities.

It wasn’t until centuries later that this clove and cinnamon scented cookie gained in popularity. Most families nowadays have their own unique way of making them. From sculpted cookies to biscotti like shapes. Or the more popular diamond shaped one that you see here today.

While some contain no leavening agent yielding a harder cookie, these are soft and almost cake-like.

Making Mostaccioli Cookies

You’ll be working with a very soft dough and will need to flour your work surface, rolling pin and hands when shaping and cutting the cookies.

I used a 2 inch diamond shaped cookie cutter to form the diamond shaped cookies. You can also use a knife to cut them into diamond shapes.

I chose to dip half the batch of cookies in semi-sweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate. I find this makes a lovely presentation when platted together on a large platter.

Keep in mind to allow sufficient time for the chocolate to set before platting…trust me on this!

Then simply enjoy with your favourite beverage!

Happy baking dear friends!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

A traditional Italian cookie with ground almonds, sweetened with honey, scented with both orange and lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon and dipped in chocolate.

Course Cookie

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 1/2 dozen

Author Marisa

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups almonds very finely ground
1/3 cup baking cocoa powder I used dutch processed
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup honey
orange zest from 1 large orange
lemon zest from 1 medium sized lemon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Limoncello or substitute with the juice of one lemon
3 ounces coarsely grated semi-sweet or bitter sweet chocolate
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
12 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
12 ounces white chocolate
vegetable oil for thinning the chocolate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, baking powder and salt then set aside.
Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the eggs together.
Mix in the sugar and honey, beating until very well combined.
Stir in the orange and lemon zest, the vanilla extract and limoncello.
Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined.
Stir in the grated chocolate.
The dough will be very soft and pliable.
Working with small portions of the dough at a time (about 1 heaping cupful) transfer to a well floured surface.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/3 of an inch thick.
Use a 2 inch diamond cookie cutter to shape and cut out the cookies and then transfer to the prepared baking sheet while spacing them about 1 inch apart. (dipping the cookie cutter in flour before each use will tremendously help for easy release.)
Re-rolled the scraps to shape and cut just 1 more time.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies should still be slightly soft to the touch when ready.
While one batch is baking in the oven continue rolling and cutting with the remaining dough.
Make sure the cookies cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
CHOCOLATE COATING:
Melt the semi-sweet chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl on high for about 90 seconds stirring at 30 seconds interval.
Thin the chocolate with a little bit of vegetable oil to loosen the consistency somewhat for easy dipping.
Dip half a batch of the cookies into the melted semi-sweet chocolate and place on a cooling rack till the chocolate sets.
Repeat by melting the white chocolate and coating the remaining cookies.
Before the white chocolate sets, use a piping bag filled with dark melted chocolate to dot the tops then simply run a toothpick through the dots to create a pretty pattern.
Allow for the chocolate to set completely before storing.

This simple and deliciously moist Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake is a fall inspired dessert that is just perfect for any day of the week.

The earthy flavor of rosemary lends itself well in combination with the sweet pears and honey. There is just a small amount of this woodsy herb…enough to awaken your taste buds to its’ subtle fragrance.

Papa’s pear tree stands proudly in his garden and continues to thrive. It has been 7 months now since his passing and one of the things I miss the most besides his absence…is his garden.

The rows upon rows of plump red juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers and glossy purple eggplants…

There were also fig trees with their luscious sweet fruits…

A variety of lettuces and fine herbs…

When my sister gave me bag fulls of these ripe pears from papa’s tree, I immediately realized that I had more then we could possible consume in a week. I then came across this Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake from the Bake from scratch magazine and was immediately intrigued as I had never baked with rosemary before.

We start with a buttery pear compote infused with the chopped rosemary which is then cooled and stirred into the cake batter and baked to a golden brown perfection.

This Pear Rosemary Honey Bundt Cake is slightly dense in texture and oh so moist! You will find that it actually tastes better the next day, making it a perfect make ahead dessert, something to consider when planning a large family gathering and freeing up some much needed oven space.

All that is needed before serving is a dusting of icing sugar for a little extra love!

If you love herbs in sweet baked goods then this Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake is definitely for you!

Not a fan of herbs, then you may like this heavenly Chocolate and Pear Crostata.

Happy Fall everyone!

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake

A deliciously moist pear Bundt cake, scented with honey and rosemary.

Course Bundt Cake

Servings 12

Author Marisa

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened and divided
2 cups peeled and chopped pear
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup honey
Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 10 cup Bundt pan and set aside.
In a medium sized sauce pot, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
Add in the chopped pear, rosemary and cook for a few minutes till the pears are soft, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pear and rosemary mixture from the heat and let it cool completely.
In a large bowl using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the remaining 1 cup of butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed till fluffy. About 4 minutes.
Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and the salt.
In another smaller bowl combine the milk and honey together and whisk well.
Slowly add in the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk mixture. Start and end with flour mixture, beating just until combined.
Stir in the pear and rosemary mixture.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
Bake for about 1 hour or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Slightly loosen the cake around the edges with a knife or offset spatula and invert onto a wire rack.
Let the cake cool completely and dust with icing sugar just before serving.