Roccocò: the recipe for Campanian Christmas cookies with almonds

THE Roccoco they are gods biscuits in the shape of a donut, typical of the Christmas tradition of Campania and in particular of the city of Naples. They are made with a firm and very fragrant paste made from almonds, orange, candied fruit and pisto, a special blend of spices. Crunchy and very aromatic, once crunched, they literally melt in the mouth thanks to the strong presence of sugar. They can’t miss the party table with other regional sweets typical of the time, such as mostaccioli and raffiuoli, and are also an excellent gift idea, possibly packaged in delicious individual sachets.

Of source old, were born in 1320 thanks to the nuns of Real Convento della Maddalena and the term derives from the French rockery, for their resemblance to a rounded shell. As with any traditional recipe, they exist different version roccocò: they can be more or less big, with whole or crushed almonds, with oranges or tangerines, candied oranges or cedar. You can make them by forming loaves or rolling out the dough with a rolling pin, getting the donuts with a cookie cutters. They can be slightly softer or harder and crispier, as we have prepared them. In any case, they will be appreciated by young and old for their kindness.

Find out how to prepare them by following our simple recipe step by step.

How to prepare roccocò

Prepare the dough: on a work surface or with a planetary mixer, put the flour with the crushed almonds and the grated orange zest (1).

Also add the ammonia, the spices, the sugar and the water and juice mixture (2).

Knead quickly, then also incorporate the toasted almonds and the diced candied fruit (3).

Knead the dough to mix all the ingredients: you should obtain a rustic and fairly firm dough (4).

Obtain small pieces of dough of about 50 gr each (5).

Form loaves with each piece (6).

Join the ends to form tarallini (7).

Place the roccocò on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, spacing them a few cm apart because they will expand a little during cooking (8).

Continue until you fill the trays you have available (9). With these quantities, you will get 30-35 cookies.

Brush the surface of the roccocò with a beaten egg (10) and bake at 180 ° C for 20-25 minutes.

When they are golden, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely (11).

The roccoco, as soon as they are cooked, will still be soft, but on cooling they will reach the right consistency, very hard (12).

Bring the roccocò to the table and serve (13).

storage

Rococo can also be stored for a long time a month, in a tin box or food bag. Freezing is not recommended.