Castagnelle Recipe (Italian Orange Almond Christmas Cookies)
Castagnelle are traditional Italian Christmas cookies that blend the flavor of orange, almond, a hint of cinnamon, a touch of cocoa, and an underlying lacing of coffee. They’re crispy outside and chewy inside, and completely addictive!
Servings 12 servings
Calories 178kcal
Ingredients
- 150 grams blanched almonds (about 1 cup)
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1/4 cup hot espresso (or double-strength brewed coffee)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk (or any type of unflavored milk you like)
- 5 tablespoons powdered sugar (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. To toast the almonds, spread them out onto a baking tray and bake until they’re light golden and aromatic, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan once halfway through. Let the nuts cool to until they’re lukewarm. (While the nuts cool, brew the espresso or coffee and measure out the other ingredients.)
- Add the toasted almonds to a food processor and process until finely chopped (but don’t turn it into almond flour!). Add the sugar and pulse 2 times, then add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and pulse until combined. Add the orange zest, espresso, vanilla, and milk, and process until it forms dough.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar onto your countertop or work surface, and roll each portion of dough into a rope about 9 to 10 inches long. Slightly flatten each rope, and then cut them on the diagonal into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces.
- Arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined baking tray (leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch between each cookie). Bake until the cookies are dry to the touch and look set, but an indentation remains when you lightly push the tops, about 12 to 14 minutes at 350F.
- Cool completely. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon powdered sugar on top. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 36 cookies, or 12 servings. Each serving is 3 cookies.
- Storage: Once they're cool, store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
- Vegan Friendly: To make these cookies vegan, use your favorite unflavored plant-based, non-dairy milk.
- Brown Sugar: For even deeper flavor and subtle notes of caramel and molasses, use 1/2 cup granulated white sugar plus 1/4 cup light brown sugar.
- Caffeine: With 1/4 cup of espresso or double-strength coffee, this recipe does have a bit of caffeine in it. (That 1/4 cup of espresso gets divided into 36 cookies, so it's really not a lot.) However, you can use decaf coffee if you prefer.
- If You Don’t Have a Food Processor: Instead of using a food processor to make the cookie dough, you can easily mix it up by hand. The key is to make sure the almonds are finely chopped because you don't want large pieces of nuts in these cookies.
Nutrition
Serving: 3cookies | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg