Apulian Biscuits: the recipe for the typical almond biscuits

These types of biscuits are delicious small pastries typical of Ceglie Messapica, a charming village in the heart of Puglia in Italy, made with almonds, eggs, sugar and citrus liqueur. They are stuffed with a delicious cherry jam, but also with quince jam or grape jam, and are characterized by a rustic look and the classic irregular cubic shape. Simple and very fragrant, these almond biscuits are linked to the Apulian peasant tradition and are never lacking, especially during holidays or on the occasion of special events such as weddings. So let’s find out how to prepare them with our recipe and then enjoy them for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or at the end of a meal, accompanied by coffee or a small glass of sweet liqueur. Every occasion will be the right one.

How to make Apulian Biscuits

Toast half of the almonds in a non-stick pan, then add them to the rest of them, collect them in a kitchen mixer and blend until you get a not too fine grain.

In a bowl, pour the chopped almonds, the egg, the citrus liqueur, the grated lemon zest and the whole cane sugar, then work everything until the mixture is homogeneous and rather thick.

Spread the almond mixture in a pan, lined with a sheet of parchment paper, obtaining 2 strips about 1.5 cm thick and about 12 cm long.

Spread a thin layer of cherry jam on one of the two sides of the strips.

Fold the strips back on themselves, wrapping the jam.

Cut the stuffed strips into cubes of about 4 cm .

Arrange the biscuits on the baking tray, sprinkled with a thin layer of flour, making sure to place them well spaced from each other. Bake them at 180 degrees C and bake for 15-20 minutes (7).

As soon as the biscuits are golden brown, take them out of the oven, let them cool on a wire rack and then serve them (8).

How to store Apulian Biscuits

To enjoy all the fragrance of Ceglie biscuits, the advice is to place them in a tin box so you can preserve them for several days.