twenty-one - tozzetti

Another Italian cookie is on the menu today...and it's not the last one (spoiler!).

Few days before the beginning of the Christmas feasts, I wanted a more simple cookie again, one that could almost count as a healthy (?) snack, one made with olive oil instead of butter (!!!).

I made these and they are what I was looking for, wholesome and not very sweet, while they still taste of Christmas and make your kitchen smell wonderful.

Tozzo means a piece of stale bread in Italian, but Tozzetti are traditional Roman cookies, baked twice and studded with hazelnuts. This version adds some cinnamon and cocoa for more flavour and colour.
I think they're lovely and like to eat them just like this. They're not hard as these kinds of cookies sometimes are. But they are still perfect to be dunked into your morning coffee/cup of tea/sweet wine after a Christmas meal...or you could dip them into chocolate for a more elegant, cookie platter version. I resisted the temptation, this time at least.

Recipe (adapted from this one. makes about 35 cookies)

2 medium sized eggs
80 grams golden cane sugar
60 ml olive oil
zest of half a lemon
235 grams flour (I used 135 wholegrain Kamut and 100 all-purpose)
0,5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cocoa
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
100 grams hazelnuts, chopped in half


Preheat your oven to 180º C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix eggs and sugar until foamy, add the olive oil and lemon zest and continue mixing for a bit.

Combine the flour, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon and salt and add them. Mix until combined, then add the hazelnuts. Divide the dough into three equal portions. With floured hands, shape them into 2,5 cm thick logs and place them on the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, until cracked on the sides but not browned.

Take out of the oven, let cool down until you can touch them and cut into 1 cm thick pieces with a very sharp, not serrated knife. Lay the cookies out on the baking sheet again and bake for another 8 minutes or until quite dry. They can still be a bit soft in the centre.

Let cool completely and store in an airtight container. They'll keep for at least two weeks.