The mostaccioli are known in Italy for the Napoli version: soft, fat, and covered with dark chocolate.
The Roman version, less known, is instead not very sweet and much healthier, with the only flaw being lost teeth for those who do not have good gums.
The name mostaccioli derives from the Latin “mustaceum,” which indicates a sweet made with grape must or with the fermented juice of a fruit. The legend says that on St. Francis’ pilgrimage to Rome, he tasted them and was particularly struck by it so as to ask his dear Roman friend Jacopa de Settesoli for a bite even on his deathbed.
Mostaccioli
- Preparation time: 30 minutes
- Ingredients for 4 servings
- Difficulty: Easy recipe
- Ingredients
- 7 oz or 200 gr flour
- 7 oz or 200 gr nuts
- 1 egg white
- 4 oz or 110 gr honey
- 1 oz or 25 gr grape must
- Pepper and cinnamon to taste
- Instructions
- Chop the nuts coarsely in a mortar. Heat the honey and the must slightly in a saucepan.
- In a bowl, combine the flour and walnuts, add the honey and the must and then season with pepper and cinnamon according to your taste.
- Spread the mixture about 1/2 cm or 0 13/64 inch thick. Cut the dough into a rhomboid shape.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Bake in a hot oven at 325°C for about fifteen minutes.