The King’s Biscuits look like cantucci both in shape and double baking.
And just like cantucci, you can serve them at the end of dinner with vin santo and a good story (theirs).
The King’s cookies are crumblier and softer to the bite than their Tuscan cousins.
The dough preparation is straightforward. After combining all the ingredients by hand or in the planetary mixer bowl, cut the dough into several pieces, giving each one the shape of a strand, and put the baking tray into the hot oven for the first of the double cooking, called biscottatura, just like for cantucci.
After the first baking, the strands are cut diagonally to form cookies and return to the oven for a few minutes at a low temperature.
At this point, they are allowed to cool before dusting with powdered sugar.
I will leave you with the traditional Bolognese recipe. Then you choose your way. Don’t use candied fruit if you don’t like it, but at least add anise liqueur so you don’t lose all the typical characteristics of this historic recipe, which was created to greet the visit of the King of Italy to Altedo, a town in the Bolognese countryside, in 1918.
The history of the King’s Biscuits
On June 6, 1918, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy visited the Bassa Bolognese area, once full of rice fields. On his tour, he also went to Altedo, a hamlet in the municipality of Malalbergo, a few kilometers from Bologna, where he was interested in the new methods used for rice cultivation.
The motorcade, headed by the king’s car, a Fiat 510 Torpedo built for him, entered the town at 10:15 a.m. And here, a half disaster occurred.
Mayor Zeno Pezzoli was not ready. Known for not being an early riser, he was still intent on dressing and sent his daughter Anna to do the honors and stall.
The girl found a flower bouquet at home and thought to offer it, but the bunch bathed Victor Emmanuel III’s royal pants. The people who traveled with the king were astonished, but Vittorio Emanuele smiled. When, at last, the mayor was ready to go, the royal procession began a tour of agricultural cooperatives in the area.
At the end of the inspection, the mayor of Altedo offered a banquet, during which Tuda Martinelli Pezzoli offered cookies created for the occasion.
The king, who liked these cookies so much, offered Tuda the opportunity to use the Royal House patent.
It must have seemed too much to the good woman, who declined. However, she asked permission to call them the King’s Biscuits. Vittorio Emanuele gave the honor, and he climbed back into his Torpedo carrying some cookies wrapped in a knotted handkerchief.
Buona cucina, Monica
More Bolognese cookie recipes
Bologna has a rich and varied tradition of local cookies, including ravioli, zuccherini, sabadoni, and gialletti.
St. Joseph’s raviole and zuccherini montanari can also be found in the city’s bakeries. Others are disappearing, such as mistocchine, simple sweets made with chestnut flour and water (vegan and gluten-free), or Fave dei Morti, typical cookies during All Saints’ Day (another gluten-free recipe).
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King's Biscuits
Ingredients
- 125 g of butter
- 150 g of peeled almonds
- 100 g of candied citron
- 500 g of 00 flour
- 250 g of granulated sugar
- 3 g of baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 regular eggs
- 20 g of anise liqueur type Anisette
Instructions
- Melt the butter and set aside.
- Coarsely crush the almonds, finely chop the candied citron, and set both aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl or planetary mixer.
- Add melted butter, not too hot, then eggs and liqueur, and mix for 5 minutes until soft and well blended.
- Also, add almonds and citron, knead again, wrap in plastic film, and let rest in the refrigerator for several hours: 3 to 5.
- Preheat oven to 180C degrees (356F).
- Remove the plastic film and dust a clean work surface with flour.
- Tear or cut off pieces of dough, forming strands 20-30 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 2 cm high (see photos accompanying the recipe).
- Arrange the dough strands on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. They should come out of the oven light, not golden brown.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and lower the temperature to 100C degrees (212F).
- Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes, then move them gently since they will still be soft. Use a knife to pull them apart (see photo below recipe). Then, cut the strands diagonally, forming cookies about 2 cm long.
- Put the pan with the cookies back in the oven and bake for 6 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Finally, turn it out from the oven, let it cool, and dust it with powdered sugar.
Food tips
- Store in a cookie jar; that cookie will be fragrant for several weeks.
- You can freeze the dough.
- Amount for about 1 kg of cookies.
