Christmas cantucci

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 250 g flour
• 170 g almonds, whole, unpeeled
• 190 g sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 25 g butter, soft
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp brown rum
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 pinches of cardamom
• 1 pinch of star anise, ground
• 1 pinch of clove(s), ground
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Italian pastries with Christmas spices

Place the almonds in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute. Drain and press the almonds out of their brown skins. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and a pinch of salt. Now add the softened butter, eggs, and brown rum and knead very quickly with a mixer. Knead in the almonds and shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for about 30 minutes. Line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven (top/bottom heat) to 190°C. Once cooled, divide the dough ball into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a roll about 25 cm long. Place the rolls on the baking tray, leaving more space between them. The rolls will spread out considerably. Pre-bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes. Allow the pastries to cool slightly and then cut diagonally into approximately 1 cm thick slices using a serrated knife. Place the cantucci, cut-side down, back on the baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for another 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow the Christmas cantucci to cool completely and then layer them in a tin for storage.