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Desserts

Mostaccioli (Neapolitan Spiced Christmas Cookies)

Neapolitan Christmas cookies spiced with pisto, a warm blend of cinnamon and other spices, and coated in a dark chocolate glaze.
Recipe Mostaccioli (Neapolitan Spiced Christmas Cookies)
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 20 minutes
  • Cooking 10 minutes
  • Servings for 30 mostaccioli

Looking for a sweet that captures the true spirit of the holidays? These mostaccioli deliver, with their unmistakable scent of spices and a chocolate glaze that wins you over at the first bite. These Neapolitan Christmas cookies are a timeless classic among Italian holiday sweets, soft on the inside and covered in a generous coat of dark chocolate. Perfect for sharing with family or giving as gifts, these baked chocolate treats hold all the magic of tradition and childhood memories.

Thanks to pisto, a Neapolitan blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and coriander, mostaccioli release intense, warm aromas in every bite, ideal if you love experimenting with homemade spiced sweets. This step-by-step mostaccioli recipe walks you through every detail, showing you how to make soft mostaccioli at home.

Soft cocoa cookies are among the most-loved recipes for kids and grown-ups alike, just like other holiday favorites such as Roccocò or Gingerbread Cookies. If you love simple desserts full of flavor, we also recommend Honey Cookies or the indulgent Gingerbread Cupcakes for a special snack.

Try these traditional Christmas cookies at home and discover why mostaccioli for the holidays have become a must: an easy baked dessert that brings together old-fashioned aromas and homemade goodness, perfect for making every celebration a little sweeter.

Ingredients for 30 mostaccioli

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Method

  1. To make the Mostaccioli, sift the flour onto your work surface and shape it into a well. Put the cocoa, baking powder, salt, sugar and pisto in the center. Mix everything with your hands and drizzle in the warm water in a thin stream, kneading constantly.
    Mostaccioli, step 1: a well of flour with cocoa, sugar and spices on the work surface
  2. Keep kneading until the mixture is firm, then roll it out with a rolling pin into a sheet about 1 cm thick. Use a diamond-shaped cookie cutter to cut out your cookies.
    Mostaccioli, step 2: diamond-shaped cookies cut from the rolled-out dough
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, arrange the cookies on it and bake at 180 °C (350 °F) for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
    Mostaccioli, step 3: the baked cookies on a lined baking sheet
  4. Meanwhile, make the glaze: chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, dip the cookies in it completely, using kitchen tongs.
    Mostaccioli, step 4: dipping the cookies in melted dark chocolate
  5. Let the excess chocolate drip off on a wire rack, then wait until the Mostaccioli have cooled completely before serving. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

 

Tips

Pay close attention when baking the Mostaccioli: if they stay in the oven too long, they become very hard.

Storage

You can keep the Mostaccioli in a cookie tin for a few days.

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