Mostaccioli Molisani
Mostaccioli Molisani, also called mustaccioli, are spiced honey and toasted almond diamond-shaped biscuits cloaked in dark chocolate, baked across Molise for Christmas.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 340 kcal
Equipment
- •Baking tray
- •Baking parchment
- •Rolling pin
- •Heatproof bowl
- •Wire cooling rack
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- fat
- 16 g
- carbs
- 44 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 6 g
- calories
- 340 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- 2
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
- 3
Stir in the caster sugar, finely chopped toasted almonds, and grated orange zest.
- 4
Warm the honey and water in a small pan until completely liquid and runny.
- 5
Pour the warm honey mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- 6
Knead gently on a lightly floured surface until a pliable, cohesive dough forms.
- 7
Roll the dough out to an even thickness of roughly one centimetre.
- 8
Cut the dough into classic diamond shapes with a sharp knife.
- 9
Arrange the diamonds on the prepared baking tray with space between each biscuit.
- 10
Bake at 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes until slightly risen and fragrant.
- 11
Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 12
Melt the dark chocolate and butter over a pan of barely simmering water.
- 13
Coat the top and sides of each cooled biscuit in melted chocolate and leave to set.
Chef's tips
Do not overbake the biscuits or they will turn unpleasantly hard once cooled. They should feel slightly soft to the touch when leaving the oven. Allow the chocolate coating to dry thoroughly at room temperature before stacking.
Ingredient substitutions
- runny honey → mosto cotto (cooked grape must) for an intensely traditional, darker crumb
- whole almonds → toasted hazelnuts for a nutty Campobasso variant
Storage
Store the glazed biscuits in a tightly sealed tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Reheating
Serve at room temperature; do not reheat as the chocolate coating will melt.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Baking past 12 minutes, which makes the honey-based dough rock-hard.
- •Glazing the biscuits while they are still warm, which prevents the chocolate from setting properly.
- •Rolling the dough too thin, losing the soft spiced interior bite.
Serving suggestions
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