Cantucci toscani
Tuscany's twice-baked almond biscuits: a plain dough of flour, sugar, eggs and whole almonds, baked as a log, sliced and baked again until crunchy.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Cantucci are hard, dry almond biscuits from Tuscany, baked twice. The dough is plain on purpose: flour, sugar, eggs, a little butter and honey, a pinch of salt and raising agent, and plenty of whole unpeeled almonds. Shape it into long flat logs, brush them with egg and bake until set and golden, then slice them on the diagonal while still warm, 1–1.5 cm thick, and bake the slices again until dry right through. Leave the almonds whole, not chopped, so that every slice shows their cut faces. The dough is sticky; wet or floured hands make shaping easier. Done is a crunchy, golden biscuit, not too sweet, that snaps cleanly and keeps for weeks in a tin.
What you'll need
8 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour, plain300 g
- Sugar200 g
- Egg, 2 for the dough, 1 beaten for brushing3
- Almond, whole, unpeeled, lightly toasted180 g
- Butter, soft30 g
- Honey15 ml
- Baking powder4.9 ml
- Salt1 pinch
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C and line a tray. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 2 eggs, the butter and honey and mix into a firm, sticky dough, then work in the almonds.
10 min
Step 2
Divide into three and shape into logs about 4 cm wide and 2 cm high on the tray, well apart. Brush with the beaten egg and bake 20–25 minutes until golden and firm.
25 min
Step 3
Cool 10 minutes, then slice on the diagonal, 1–1.5 cm thick, with a serrated knife. Lay the slices cut side up and bake again at 160°C for 10–15 minutes until dry. Cool completely.
15 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 86 kcal
- Protein
- 2.2 g
- Carbs
- 12.2 g
- Fat
- 3.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 0.7 g
- Fibre
- 0.7 g
- Sugar
- 5.7 g
- Sodium
- 10 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Tree nuts
- Milk
- Vegetarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Butter and honey → Leave them out
The Prato way: a harder, drier biscuit.
Tips
- Slice while the logs are warm but not hot: too soon and they crumble, too late and they shatter.
- Kept in an airtight tin they last a month.
History & culture
In Tuscany they come at the end of a meal with a glass of Vin Santo, the region's amber dessert wine, for dipping. Prato, the city they come from, still calls them biscotti di Prato, and its oldest bakers make them with no butter or fat at all. The protected Cantucci Toscani recipe allows a little of both.
Twice-baked biscuits are as old as travel, made to keep on long journeys, but the almond version belongs to Prato. In the nineteenth century the baker Antonio Mattei made them famous, winning a mention at the Paris Exposition of 1867; his shop still sells them in blue paper bags. Cantucci Toscani became an EU Protected Geographical Indication in 2016.
Traditional — Flour, sugar, eggs, whole unpeeled almonds, a little butter and honey, as in the Cantucci Toscani rules. Prato's biscotti leave out the butter.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Cantucci toscani take?
1 hr all in — 20 min prep, 40 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 40 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Eggs, Tree nuts, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Baking tray, Oven, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.
How much sugar?
200 g of Sugar.
How much honey?
1 tbsp of Honey.
What can I use instead?
Butter and honey → Leave them out. The Prato way: a harder, drier biscuit.
Any tips from this recipe?
Slice while the logs are warm but not hot: too soon and they crumble, too late and they shatter. Kept in an airtight tin they last a month.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Torta caprese
Capri's flourless chocolate and almond cake: dark chocolate, butter, ground almonds, sugar and eggs, with a crackled top and a moist, fudgy middle.
Easy
Zabaione
Zabaione al Marsala
Egg yolks, sugar and Marsala whisked over simmering water into a warm, airy custard foam, served at once in glasses.
Easy
Affogato al caffè
A scoop of fior di latte gelato 'drowned' in a shot of hot espresso. Two ingredients, a minute's work.
Very easy