Susumelle
Susumelle are traditional Calabrian Christmas biscuits, softly spiced with honey and cinnamon, shaped into ovals and coated in glossy dark chocolate.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 16
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 210 kcal
Equipment
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Baking tray
- •Baking parchment
- •Small saucepan
- •Heatproof bowl
- •Wire cooling rack
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- fat
- 6 g
- carbs
- 36 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 3 g
- calories
- 210 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan) and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- 2
Warm the honey and milk together in a small saucepan over low heat until fluid and just warm.
- 3
Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and ground cloves together in a large mixing bowl.
- 4
Pour the warm honey mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
- 5
Fold in the finely minced candied orange peel until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- 6
Divide the dough into 16 equal portions with lightly floured hands.
- 7
Shape each piece into an oval roughly 1 cm thick and arrange them spaced apart on the baking tray.
- 8
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until set at the edges but still slightly tender in the centre.
- 9
Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
- 10
Melt the dark chocolate and butter gently in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
- 11
Dip the top surface of each cooled biscuit into the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off.
- 12
Place the glazed biscuits on parchment paper until the chocolate sets firm and glossy.
Chef's tips
Do not overbake susumelle, as they will turn dry and hard once cool; they should feel slightly yielding when taken out. If the dough is too sticky to shape, chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes before handling.
Ingredient substitutions
- candied orange peel → finely grated fresh orange zest
- whole milk → lukewarm water for a dairy-free biscuit base
Storage
Store the set biscuits in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Reheating
Enjoy at room temperature; do not reheat as the chocolate coating will melt.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Overbaking the biscuits, which robs them of their characteristic soft, cake-like interior.
- •Glazing the biscuits while they are still warm, which causes the chocolate coating to streak and slide off.
- •Making the dough too wet to hold its oval shape during baking.
Serving suggestions
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