Bocconotti
Cookies, originated as early as the 18th century in the Italian region of Abruzzo, quickly spread to the surrounding provinces via Molise and Puglia all the way to Basilicate and Calabria. The fillings vary, but all have in common that they are shaped like a small cup and stuffed with almonds and chocolate. In the beginning, they were small - for one bite, and now more and more often they make them much bigger. This is a recipe from Abruzzo where they make the filling with the addition of red grape jam. You can make the jam yourself, but blueberry or cherry jam will serve well as a substitute. I used blueberry jam.
Preparation steps
- From all the ingredients, knead a smooth dough, wrap it in foil and leave it in the cold for about 1 hour.
- Finely grate the chocolate, mix it with finely ground almonds (they can also be walnuts or hazelnuts) and mix in the jam. Put the filling to cool together with the dough.
- Grease the mini muffin tin with butter (you can also use paper baskets - only then the sides will not be very smooth.) Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3 mm and cut the circles using a dough cutter. For my mold I used a 6 cm diameter cutter.
- press the dough into the mold to the brim .....
- ..... and put the stuffing to the edge - not over the edge
- From the rest of the dough, cut circles for the lids and cover each cookie. - prick a little with a fork
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 * for about 20 minutes. If necessary, cover the mold with baking paper so that it does not burn at the top. Since I have a 3in1 stove (a small dishwasher is also integrated), the oven is low and the top heaters are a little too close, I first baked covered for 15 minutes, then removed the paper and baked for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled and enjoy.
- Since I make them for the Christmas tray, I topped them with chocolate glaze and sprinkled them with white chocolate stars.
Serving
The name "bocconoto" itself means small cookies that we eat in one bite, but you can also make larger ones - in a bench for standard muffins or in a mold for tarrtarelles. One large bocconotto can be made in a cake or pie mold. The choice is yours.
