Cantuccini

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 220 g spelt flour (type 630)
• 180 g sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch(s) cinnamon powder
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 30 g ground almonds
• ½ small bottle(s) of bitter almond flavoring
• 25 g butter
• 2 eggs
• 175 g almonds, whole kernels

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes

Italian spelt almond biscuits

Place all ingredients except the whole almonds in a bowl and knead into a smooth dough with your hands. Finally, add the almonds and mix together. Since the dough is sticky, you’ll need to scrape some of the dough off your hands at the end. Then, cover the bowl with the dough and place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes so it firms up a bit and is easier to remove from the bowl. Next, dust the work surface with flour. Use a spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl and place it on the floured surface. Roll it into a ball. Place the dough in a freezer bag and return it to the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Then divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. On the floured work surface, roll two of the dough pieces into 24 cm long rolls. Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper (8 cm apart from each other) and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I put the other two pieces of dough back in the fridge. The dough rolls will expand a little during baking, so that when they are done, they will look like loaves of bread. Remove from the oven after 15 minutes, but let them cool briefly on the baking sheet, otherwise they will break when lifted out. Place the baked loaves on a wire rack and repeat the process with the other two pieces of dough. Allow all four loaves to cool completely on the wire rack and then, using a very sharp knife, cut diagonally into 2 cm wide pieces. Place the cantuccini cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for another 10-15 minutes (depending on taste) until golden brown. Store in a tin or large jar once thoroughly cooled. They taste delicious dipped in coffee before eating!