Grandma Annie’s Mostazzoli

One of Dad’s holiday favorites was Grandma Annie’s Mostazzoli. Nothing smells or tastes quite like them! When she agreed to walk me through this recipe she said that this cookie was made in Bari, Italy for Christmas and weddings. Grandma made them in the true Italian cookie tradition – quite dry and hard. The variation below is my spin on this wonderful treat but caters more to the soft cookie lover. Hopefully it packs the same great taste and flavor!

1 pound almonds – shelled and roasted
2 – 1/4 cups sugar
4 cups flour
2 cubes margarine or butter – softened
2 eggs
2 – 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
strong coffee
1 cup powdered sugar
2 or more tablespoons cocoa
milk
lemon juice

Mix margarine and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, mixing to incorporate. Stir in the almond pieces. Slowly add a bit of strong coffee to form a firm dough. Shape pieces of dough into a one inch thick rope, pat down a little and cut 1 – 1/2 inch angled pieces. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Do not over bake as the cookies will harden as they cool.

Icing: Mix together the powdered sugar and cocoa. (The amount of cocoa depends on how dark you want the cookies.) Slowly whisk in enough milk to achieve the desired glaze consistency. Although she did not include it in the written recipe, she told me that a touch of fresh lemon juice was also stirred in to the icing to make them a bit more shiny.

To roast almonds: Place almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and crush almonds to desired size pieces for cookies.