A delicious Italian Cookie, Canestrelli, crunchy, buttery with a taste of chocolate. A fast and easy cookie to add to your Christmas baking list.
Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
These Italian cookies are perfect with an afternoon cup of tea. A crumbly flower shaped biscuit which originated in Piedmont and Liguria.
Mixed dry ingredients and egg yolks.
Coarse crumbs made with butter and dry ingredients.
Almost combined ingredients.
Gently kneaded dough, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
Roll out the dough and cut out the cookies.
Cookies ready for baking.
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 the choice.
Unfortunately using your hands is not going to work because your hands cannot work fast or hard enough to bring Canestrelli dough together and you don’t want to add any extra butter!
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How to make Chocolate Canestrelli
- Boil the eggs for 8 minutes (hard boiled), let cool then smash with a fork.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, cornstarch and cocoa
- Then add the cold butter cut into pieces
- Pulse a few times until you have coarse crumbs
- Then add the egg yolks and pulse until combined, it may take a bit so be patient.
- Move the dough to a flat surface and knead gently until combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate 1-2 hours or even overnight.
- Roll the dough into 1/3 inch ( 1 cm) thickness.
- Cut out with small flower shaped cookie cutter and in the middle using a straw or even a small holed pastry tip make a hole in the middle.
- Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes, let cool completely then dust with powdered sugar.
How to store Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
Cookies should be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Italian Cookies
Italian Orange Ricotta Cookies
Traditional Italian Breakfast Cookies
Canestrelli Cookies are an Italian traditional Christmas Cookie that I hope you enjoy!
Chocolate Canestrelli Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (140 grams)
- 1/2 cup + 1/2 tablespoon powdered / icing /confections sugar (75 grams)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons corn starch (80 grams)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa (unsweetened / 20 grams)
- 2/3 cup butter (cold / 150 grams)
- 3 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 shell when cooled and 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.
- Pre-heat oven to 335° (170° celsius). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from 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, cut a hole in the middle of the flower. Place cut out flowers on prepared cookie sheets and bake for approximately 12 -14 minutes, cookies should not brown. Let cookies rest 5 minutes then move to wire racks to cool, dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
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