What are quaresimali?
Have you ever heard of quaresimali? Quaresima is the Italian word for lent, the 40 days from Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras or the beginning of Carnevale) to Easter Sunday.
Lent is a solemn period of abstinence in which no meat or animal products were traditionally consumed. Therefore, Sicilian nuns came up with this recipe which originally did not contain any butter; lard; milk or eggs. The modern recipe, however, does contain egg whites in order to help bind the ingredients together and shape these biscotti.
The aroma that emerges from the oven while quaresimali are baking is heavenly! Imagine toasted almonds; orange zest and cinnamon, and they are even better once you bite into them.
They are definitely much more crunchy and hard compared to your typical biscotti recipe. Remember, they do not contain any fat or dairy which would give them a more tender crumb. However, they are perfect for dunking in your coffee or, even better, in a glass of vin santo (sweet wine)!
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Quaresimali Ingredient List
- Almond flour: I used almond flour (whole almonds ground without the skin) as opposed to almond meal (whole almonds ground with the skin). Either works well in this recipe.
- Orange zest: freshly grated form one orange
- Eggs: white only
- Almonds: whole almonds, not blanched
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
How to make Quaresimali
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour; all-purpose flour; ¾ cup of sugar; cinnamon and salt.
- Stir in the grated orange zest.
- Whisk the egg whites, adding the remaining sugar a spoonful at a time, until stiff and shiny.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites, a bit at a time, and stir until combined and a crumbly dough is formed.
- Add the whole almonds and knead them in until evenly dispersed in the dough.
- Divide the dough in half. Lightly wet your hands and roll each piece into a log (lightly flattened) approximately 12 x 3 inches and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (about 30 minutes) before slicing with a serrated knife into 1-inch biscotti.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Reduce oven to 300 degrees F and bake for about 25 minutes (flipping halfway through) until crisp.
Top Tips
-Do not attempt to cut the loaves while still hot. The cookies will be very crumbly and fall apart.
-When you slice the quaresimali they will be slightly underdone in the center, this is normal. They will cook through when baked the second time.
- Let cool before serving.
Recipe FAQs
The zest of 1 lemon may also be added to this recipe along with the orange zest.
Since these cookies are dry, they keep for weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how much you enjoyed it in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Quaresimali - Lenten Almond Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1⅛ cups granulated sugar divided
- ¾ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange freshly grated
- 3 large egg whites
- ¾ cup whole almonds toasted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour; all-purpose flour; ¾ cup of sugar; cinnamon and salt.
- Stir in the grated orange zest.
- Whisk the egg whites, adding the remaining sugar a spoonful at a time, until stiff and shiny.
- Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites, a bit at a time, and stir until combined and a crumbly dough is formed.
- Add the whole almonds and knead them in until evenly dispersed in the dough.
- Divide the dough in half. Lightly wet your hands and roll each piece into a log approximately 12 x 3 inches and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (about 30 minutes) before slicing with a serrated knife into 1-inch biscotti. The cookies will be slightly underdone in the center, this is normal.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Reduce oven to 300 degrees F and bake for about 25 minutes (flipping halfway through) until crisp.
- Let cool before serving.
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