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Gluten-free and traditional Canestrelli biscuits

Easter is approaching and with it the traditions of Easter sweet and savoury recipes with which we celebrate it. This year I thought I would share with you the recipe for a biscuit that I love and that was the star of the course dedicated to Italian Biscuits: I am talking about the gluten-free and traditional  Canestrelli  recipe that you can give to your loved ones with the certainty of making them happy, a perfect gift also for Father’s Day.

The Canestrelli recipe between legends and truths

Canestrelli biscruits are so famous and popular that they need no introduction, yet not many people know their history and preparation techniques.

Their origin dates back to the Middle Ages and even then they were so popular to be depicted on Genovini, i.e. the coins minted from 1252 onwards by the Genoese Republic. The value of this biscuit was linked not only to its taste, but also to the ingredients used, namely white flour and butter, which in the hinterland of Genoa, in the Val di Trebbia, were true rarities, so much so that Canestrelli were used for centuries as currency.

And the name Canestrello is also linked to notoriety as it first appeared in an official document in 1576 that reported on a hapless muleteer stabbed and robbed of a ‘basket’ of biscuits (basket being ‘canestro’ in Italian, hence the name of the biscuits), confirming the value that was attributed to this product.

Precious ingredients and… magical mistakes

While it was considered scandalous to ‘waste’ white flour and butter on a biscuit, there is no shortage of legends to explain why hard-boiled egg yolks are used in the Canestrelli dough instead of fresh eggs (in fact, shortcrust pastry made with hard-boiled egg yolks is a specific type of dough that results in cakes with a crumbly, silky texture).

One such story tells of a woman baker who, on the very day she had a large order of biscuits to prepare, did not wake up as usual. Her husband, in an attempt to help her, had hard-boiled all the eggs to have them ready for breakfast the following days. Having no time to buy more eggs, the baker decided to use the hard-boiled yolks to prepare the biscuit dough: these biscuits were so successful that they became famous throughout the region.

As is often the case in Italy, typical recipes have countless local and even family variants, and Canestrelli are no exception, so although they are recognised as Traditional Food Products (PAT) of Liguria, ingredients and preparation may vary slightly from area to area.

But what are their main characteristics?

Definitely the daisy shape that goes from a diameter of about 10cm with scalloped edges to smaller diameters to be eaten in one bite. The central hole is proportionate to the diameter, while the thickness is always quite high, at least 7 millimetres. The colour is barely golden, made even lighter by the icing sugar with which the surface is dusted.

So, are you now feeling like turning on the oven and baking some biscuits? Do you have some paper bags ready to wrap them for daddy or as a gift for Easter? Have fun with my gluten free Canestrelli!

Canestrelli senza glutine

The typical flower shape of Canestrelli

Gluten free and traditional Canestrelli

carbohydrates 64.31g per 100g canestrelli without icing sugar on the surface

Ingredients for 23 biscuits

  • 120g butter
  • 100g gluten free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut** (wheat flour for a version with gluten)
  • 100g potato starch or corn starch*
  • 50g icing sugar*
  • 2 yolks of hard-boiled eggs
  • grated rind of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 egg white for brushing
  • icing sugar* to complete

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Put the eggs in boiling water and boil them for 8 minutes; shell them and extract the hard-boiled yolks.
  2. Place the flour, icing sugar, soft butter, starch and sifted egg yolks in a bowl or planetary mixer and start mixing, add the pinch of salt and grated lemon zest, then knead until smooth and firm. Initially the dough will seem dry, but once the butter is mixed in, it will be soft and smooth. Cover the mixture with cling film and put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  3. Roll out the shortcrust pastry to a thickness of approx. 7mm-1cm, then cut the biscuits using the flower-shaped cookie mould with the hole in the centre. Brush them with egg white.
  4. Put Canestrelli on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake them in a static oven preheated to 170°C for about 15-20 minutes without allowing them to get brow: it is important not to bake them too much!
  5. Let them cool down, then dust with icing sugar.

The mould for cutting Canestrelli 

Version with gluten of Canestrelli

Replace the gluten-free flour with an equal amount of wheat flour.

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Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits

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On 13 January, Parma celebrates its patron saint, Saint Ilario, and, as in all Italian cities, there is a recipe inextricably linked to the city’s patron saint: in the case of Parma, the recipe is Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits, which you can also easily prepare in a gluten free version.

Why a biscuit with this unusual shape?

History has it that Bishop Ilario from Poitiers (circa 315-369 A.D.) found himself passing through the city of Parma on a cold, snowy winter day wearing only a pair of old, worn-out shoes. Pitifully, a cobbler gave him a pair of new shoes and the next day, in his workshop, Ilario’s old shoes had turned into golden shoes. So it is that the shoe-shaped biscuits richly decorated with coloured icing want to celebrate the Saint on the anniversary of his death, and the generosity of the people from the Emilia region.

Images of the saint can be found in several monuments in the city, including a fresco in the pendentives of the cathedral dome by Correggio and a fresco inside the Church of San Giovanni by Parmigianinoboth of which you cannot miss if you visit my city.

Decorating these biscuit shoes is therefore a tradition, especially to the delight of children who do not go to school on the holiday and thus have time to engage in such a creative activity together with their parents on a somewhat unconventional festive day. To hear the story of St. Ilario in detail, I tell it to you in this episode of Santi comuni.

The only difficulty you might encounter? Finding the mould to cut the biscuits for which you will probably have to resort to some specialised shops in Parma, such as Dalla A allo Zuccheroin the heart of the city to tempt us with everything you need to have fun with sweets.

Naturally, given the abundant use of sugar for decoration, the Scarpette di Sant’Ilario are not very suitable for habitual consumption, especially for those with diabetes: so be careful not to get carried away either by the decorations (which is why I have not been able to tell you the carbohydrate value of the decorated biscuits because it can vary very significantly depending on the decoration made), or by the consumption of these little gems which are a real temptation!

Biscotti a forma di scarpette di sant'Ilario

Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits

carbohydrates of the shortbread 67g per 100 g of baked biscuits

Ingredients

  • 250g gluten free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 250g brown rice flour*
  • 200g softened butter
  • 170g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 8g baking powder*
  • grated lemon rind
  • 1 pinch of salt 

Ingredients for the hard icing

  • 150g icing sugar*
  • 25g pasteurised egg white
  • food colours* 

Ingredients for the soft icing

  • 140g icing sugar*
  • 25g pasteurised egg white
  • food colours*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Put the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then add baking powder and grated lemon zest. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rest for the time needed to prepare the icing, about 10-15 minutes.
  2. Take bowls with rounded bottoms, one for each colour you wish to prepare (you can also follow my YouTube video to help you with the preparation of the icings). For the hard white icing, place 25g of pasteurised egg white in a bowl and gradually add 150g of icing sugar, stirring with a spoon so that the mixture is smooth and even. For the soft icing, repeat exactly the same procedure, adding 140g sugar.
  3. Starting with the white bases, add the necessary colours and sugar to obtain the various colours, both hard and soft.
    The hard icing will be used with a pastry bag fitted with a nozzle with a hole of about 1mm, while the soft icing will be dispensed using a teaspoon and the rounded tip of a knife.
  4. Cover all icings with cling film in contact with the surface until use.
  5. Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5mm, cut the biscuits into the shoe shape, place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake them in a convection oven preheated to 160°C for 10 minutes.
  6. When the biscuits are completely cooled, form the outline with one of the hard icings, white or coloured, placed in the pastry bag; cover the surface of the biscuit inside the outline using the soft icing to be spread with the help of a rounded tip of a knife so that no gaps are left. Let the icing dry for at least 15 minutes before making other decorations with a pastry bag on the soft icing to avoid colour smudging. To enjoy making other similar biscuits, also check out this recipe.

 Scarpette di sant'ilario

Version with gluten

Replace the gluten-free flour with wheat flour and mix with 2 whole eggs and 1 yolk.

 

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Gluten-free lavender biscuits: scented treats

Why make lavender biscuits? Simply because we met Francesca D’Ambrosio , who on the hills of Parma, precisely in Bazzano, runs the farm Orto di Coccinellewhere she grows organic lavender and saffron, tending them by hand and in complete harmony with nature. It is a corner of paradise where butterflies, ladybirds and birds reign supreme. With these biscuits, we close our eyes and relive the experience of so much peace, beauty, fragrance and taste.

If you love biscuits, try also these Rice and buckwheat biscuits.

Lavender biscuits

50.33g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 170g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 130g butter
  • 110g almonds, peeled
  • 100g sugar
  • 45g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 35g blue corn flour**
  • 1 egg
  • 2 g organic lavender flowers
  • a pinch of salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. In a food processor, grind the almonds to a flour. Add the other flours, sugar, butter, egg and salt and mix to incorporate all ingredients well. Finally, add the lavender flowers.
  2. Take pieces of shortcrust pastry weighing 20g each, form them into balls, then flatten and place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper, spacing them at least 2cm apart. Bake them in a static oven preheated to 180° for about 15 minutes.
  3. They are irresistible biscuits both for breakfast and for an afternoon tea or to accompany coffee at the end of a meal.
I biscotti alla lavanda pronti per essere gustati con un tè

Lavender biscuits ready to be enjoyed with tea

Version with gluten of Lavender biscuits

Replace the BiAglut flour with an equal amount of conventional cake flour.

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Christmas biscuits

Christmas is only a few days away, and in the air you can smell that good scent of celebrations, warmth and longing for closeness that characterises this time of year. It is the time when we think of our loved ones, get together to exchange greetings and gifts and since we believe that a sweet homemade gift is always much appreciated, why not bake these Christmas biscuits?

Enjoy not only baking them, but also wrapping them in nice paper with colourful ribbons and lace.

Let’s begin!

Christmas biscuits

51.25g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 100g granola*
  • 100g gluten-free bread flour mix, brand Revolution**
  • 70 g butter
  • 50g brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 45g milk
  • 20g oatmeal*
  • 10g cocoa
  • 8g baking powder*
  • 3g salt
  • cinnamon and ginger powder, icing sugar* for decoration

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. In a food processor, chop the granola somewhat coarsely, then add all the other ingredients and mix to obtain a smooth and even mixture; flavour with cinnamon and ginger powder to taste.
  2. Cover the dough with cling film and leave to rest for 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator.
  3. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about half a centimetre, cut out the biscuits with a star-shaped mould and bake them in a static oven preheated to 180°C for about 13 minutes.
  4. Dust the biscuits with icing sugar to taste. Try them dunked in milk for breakfast.

 

biscotti-di-natale-senza-glutine-ph-chiara-marando

Christmas biscuits

Version with gluten of Christmas biscuits

Replace the gluten-free flour with wheat flour.

 

 

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Vegan chocolate biscuits

It was a challenge I wanted to try, namely to bake Vegan chocolate biscuits because on one of my trips I tasted a vegan biscuit that really bewitched me. After many trials, I have finally arrived at a version that the whole family loves, but beware that vegan does not mean low-calorie and low-carbohydrate!

So let’s enjoy these biscuits, but in moderation, also because it’s hard to stop once you’ve tasted them! Other biscuits? Try these Coffee flavoured ones.

Vegan chocolate biscuits

62.28g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

  • 100g fine corn flour*
  • 100g fat emulsion (with Zero butter)*
  • 80g dark chocolate*
  • 75g teff flour*
  • 75g sugar
  • 65g Moscovado sugar
  • 60g hazelnuts
  • 40g water
  • 30g bitter cocoa*
  • 7g soy lecithin*
  • 4g baking powder*
  • 1 vanilla pod

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Vegan chocolate biscuits

  1. Start by chopping the hazelnuts to a flour-like powder; then chop the dark chocolate; prepare an emulsion with water and soy lecithin.
  2. Whip the plant butter with the sugars and add all the other ingredients until you obtain a firm dough; cover it with cling film and place in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.
  3. When the time has elapsed, take the mixture and form small balls of 40g each; arrange them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper at a distance of 5cm; finally, place in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. The last step is to bake your chocolate balls in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes. You can decorate each ball with 1 hazelnut before baking.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. Once baked, let the sweets cool and serve.

ricetta-biscotti-vegani-uno-chef-per-gaia

Version with gluten of Vegan chocolate biscuits

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

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Have fun with Christmas cookies

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We love preparing biscuits for the holiday season! Today we got inspired by colours, the result was some fun Christmas cookies, naturally in a gluten free version.

Take some time and play with us to create many different decorations and enjoy this video for more ideas for decorating cookies.

Or even make a beautiful Cookie house to decorate your Christmas table.

Christmas cookies

67g carbohydrates per 100g of cookie without icing

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry

  • 250g wholemeal rice flour*
  • 250g bread flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
  • 200g butter
  • 150g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 4g baking powder*
  • 1 pinch of salt, 1 grated lemon peel

Ingredients for the hard icing

  • 150g icing sugar*
  • 25g pasteurised egg white
  • food colours as needed*

Ingredients for the soft icing

  • 140g icing sugar*
  • 25g pasteurised egg white
  • food colours as needed*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Christmas cookies

  1. Place the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then add baking powder and grated lemon zest. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rest for the time needed to prepare the icing, about 10-15 minutes.
  2. The icings are almost identical, but their texture changes, as they have different functions: hard icing is used to draw outlines and make decorations, while soft icing is used to fill the inner areas inside the outlines. The given proportions are used to obtain white-coloured icings; starting with the white colour, colours can be added to obtain the various nuances.
  3. It is important to remember that if the colours are liquid, a little more icing sugar may have to be added to achieve the same texture of the initial white icings.
  4. Take bowls with rounded bottoms, one for each colour you wish to prepare. For the hard white icing, place 25g of pasteurised egg white in a bowl and gradually add 150g of icing sugar, stirring with a spoon so that the mixture is smooth and even. For the soft icing, repeat exactly the same procedure, adding 140g icing sugar.
  5. Starting with the white bases, add the necessary colours and sugar to obtain the various nuances, both hard and soft.
    The hard icing will be used with a pastry bag with a tip of about 1mm, while the soft icing will be applied using a teaspoon and the rounded tip of a knife.
  6. Cover all frostings with tight clingfilm until they are used.
    Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5mm, cut the biscuits into the desired shapes, place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake them in a ventilated oven preheated to 160°C for 10 minutes.
  7. When the biscuits have cooled down completely, form the outline with one of the hard icings, white or coloured; cover the surface of the biscuit inside the outline using the soft icing to be spread with the help of a round-pointed knife so that no gaps are left. Let the icing dry for at least 15 minutes before making other decorations with a pastry bag on the soft icing to avoid colour smudging.

biscotti-di-natale-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

  1. For each biscuit, you need on average of 5g of icing, so it is important to remember to add 5g of carbohydrates per biscuit in the carbohydrate count.

biscotti-di-natale-senza-glutine-uno-chef-per-gaia

Store the biscuits in a tin or a sealed cake tin… they will stay delicious for over a week.

Version with gluten of Christmas cookies

Replace the gluten-free BiAglut flour with the same amount of your usual baking flour.

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