Recipe of the week: Canestrelli of Monferrato

Canestrelli are typical Italian biscuits particularly known in Piedmont and Liguria. They originated in Monferrato (Piedmont) and were already diffused in the Middle Age: they were eaten at weddings, christenings, religious festivities and during carnival. 

The name canestrelli literally means “little baskets”, referring to the baskets where they were left to cool down after baking. However, according to some, the name might refer instead to the cylindrical instrument used to bake them.

 There are different versions of canestrelli in Liguria and in Piedmont. The main ingredients of the Ligurian ones are flour, eggs, butter and sugar, they usually are in the shape of a flower with a hole in the centre, and they are served dusted with icing sugar. The biscuits made in Piedmont have no eggs or butter; instead their special ingredients are olive oil and Gavi white vine.

Canestrelli can also be enriched with delicious ingredients such as anis, vanilla, lemon or cocoa. 

Here is the recipe for the Ligurian version of canestrelli. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Method

Mix the flour with the softened butter, the sugar and the egg yolks. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a sheet of approximately 1.5 cm. Cut out the biscuits with a mould and brush them with the egg whites. Cook them in the oven, on a buttered baking pan, for about 20 minutes. For the final touch, when they’re ready, dust the biscuits with icing sugar.