Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
A delicious Italian Cookie, these Chocolate Canestrelli are crunchy, buttery with a delicious taste of chocolate. Perfect as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee or even as dessert. A fast and easy cookie recipe everyone will love.
Like any traditional recipe, there are numerous versions! Depending on the Italian region in which they are made. Some have almonds in the dough, others are very thin. The ones I am sharing today is based on the original recipe, the best known and sold in pastry shops and supermarkets in Italy.
I have come to love Italian cookies from the every popular Biscotti to a simple Pasta Frolla cookie to one of our favorite Nutellotti Cookies. But if you prefer you can also make a simple plain Canestrelli !
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – all purpose flour, at least 11% protein
- Powder sugar – also known as icing or confectioners’ sugar
- Salt
- Cornstarch
- Cocoa – unsweetened dutch processed cocoa
- Butter – softened butter
- Eggs – hard boiled egg yolks
Hard boiled egg yolks are added to help make the cookie crumbly.
How to make Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water, heat until boiling, then remove from heat and let sit 8-10 minutes. Place under cold water. Remove the shell and white part of the eggs, let the hard boiled yolks cool then mash well with a fork.
Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, corn starch and cocoa into the bowl of your food processor, add the cold cut up butter and pulse a few times until you have coarse crumbs.
Then add the mashed cooled egg yolks and pulse until the dough almost combs together. Move to a flat surface and gently knead into a compact smooth dough.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or even over night.
Remove dough from fridge, on a lightly floured flat surface, start with rolling out half the dough cut out with a small size flower cookie cutter, using a straw or any small round hole cutter, cut a hole in the middle of the flower.
Place cut out flowers on prepared cookie sheets and bake until done, the cookies should not brown. Let the cookies rest 5 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar if desired before serving.
Where did Canestrelli originate?
Canestrelli are originally from Monferrato which is in the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy.
Why use a Food Processor?
A few of my Italian cookie recipes use a Food Processor (which by the way is quite popular here in Italy) to bring the dough together.
Why? Because you might think that there is not enough wet ingredients compared to dry, therefore the dough must come together quickly but gently. So pulsing with a food processor is a better choice if possible.
How to store them
The cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, if your home is too warm I would advise refrigerating them. You can also freeze them in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
These Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee or just when you want something a little sweet. Enjoy!
Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour (at least 11% protein)
- 9 tablespoons powdered / icing /confectioners sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons corn starch (80 grams total)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened dutch processed cocoa
- ⅔ cup butter (cold)
- 3 large hard boiled egg yolks
Instructions
- Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water, heat until boiling, then remove from heat and let sit 8-10 minutes. Place under cold water. Remove the shell and white part of the eggs, let the hard boiled yolks cool then mash very well with a fork.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, corn starch and cocoa into the bowl of your food processor, add the cold cut up butter and pulse a few times until you have coarse crumbs.
- Add the mashed cooled egg yolks and pulse until the dough almost comes together. Move to a flat surface and gently knead into a compact smooth dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or even over night.
- Pre-heat oven to 335° (170° celsius). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, on a lightly floured flat surface, start with rolling out half the dough to 1/3 inch (1 cm) thickness and cut with a small size flower cookie cutter, using a straw or any small round hole cutter (1-1½ inches/2½-3½ cm), cut a hole in the middle of the flower.
- Place the cut out cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, cookies should not brown. Let cookies rest 5 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely, dust with powdered sugar before serving if desired. Enjoy!
Hi have you ever tried margarine instead of butter? I have Becel with olive oil. Thanks
Hi Carm, unfortunately I don’t recommend margarine, it’s not very good for you. Sorry, take care!
Can you make the cookie with out the hard boiled egg yolks? Grandson can not have eggs.
Hi Bobbie, unfortunately not, because that’s what helps to make them tender. How about these chocolate shortbread cookies? https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/chocolate-shortbread/
Am I missing something? You say to hard boil the eggs, remove the shell then mash the with a fork. Then you only use the yolks in the recipe.
Is there supposed to be an instruction where you remove and discard the whites of the eggs after shelling and smash only the yolks? It doesn’t make any sense the way it’s written
Hi Jell, sorry about that, I corrected the instructions. You use just the hard boiled egg yolks. Hope that helps.
Ive just discovered your site! The recipes seem amazing. Cant wait to try some of the cookie recipes! Thanks for sharing
Hi Sandh, thanks so much, let me know what you try and how it goes. Take care.