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Italian Christmas cookies – torrone, pannetone and co.
Which sweet treats are used to set the Christmas coffee table in Italy? We took a closer look at five Italian specialties.
The Christmas season is just around the corner and the seductive scent of pine needles, candles, mandarins, cinnamon and vanilla is in the air. Clearly, Christmas is the sweetest time of the year. The Christmas markets are teeming with sweet delicacies: Roasted almonds, candied apples, glazed Baumkuchen and cookies in every shape and color adorn the windows of the market stalls. But what do people eat in Italy at Christmas time? I would like to introduce you to some traditional Italian Christmas specialties. Perhaps you will discover one or two ideas for your Christmas coffee table…
Fragrant panforte
Panforte originally comes from Siena in Tuscany and is similar to German fruit bread. Panforte exudes an incredibly comforting, spicy aroma that immediately reminds you of the Christmas season. No wonder, because Panforte literally has it all: oriental spices such as coriander, nutmeg, cloves, honey and cinnamon tempt the nose and palate. The fruit cake also consists of various nuts, figs and other candied fruits. Serve Panforte with a strong espresso or a sweet dessert wine.
Fluffy panettone
The tradition of panettone goes back more than half a millennium. Today, the Italian Christmas cake is the equivalent of Christmas stollen. This fluffy, soft cake is made from water, flour and yeast, plus butter, fresh eggs and candied citrus fruits. It is hung upside down immediately after baking. In this way, it retains its dome-like shape and light airiness. The Milanese specialty unfolds its buttery aromas especially after brief heating. A sparkling spumante is recommended with panettone.
Melt-in-the-mouth gianduiotti
Gianduiotti is a nougat praline from Turin made with Piedmont hazelnuts. In the mid-19th century, the government increased taxes on luxury goods such as cocoa. As a result, the local chocolate manufacturers decided to add hazelnuts from the region to their recipes. The name Gianduiotti is inspired by the folkloristic carnival figure Gianduja, which was created by the puppet manufacturer Gian Battista Sales at the end of the 18th century. One day, Gianduja distributed the little snacks at the Turin carnival: they were very popular with the revelers and were immediately named after Gianduja. Today, the nougat pralines are also a popular treat at Christmas time.
Crispy struffoli
In Naples, struffoli are a traditional part of every Christmas table. The marble-sized balls are also known in Calabria (Scalilli) and Abbruzzo (Cicerchiata). However, the origin of struffoli lies in Greece, where the golden yellow pearls are mentioned in many ancient writings. Moreover, Naples was founded by Greek settlers and was part of the ancient “Magna Graecia”. The dough consists of flour, eggs, butter, sugar and orange zest and is fried in sunflower oil until crispy. After cooling, the balls are coated with a honey glaze and then garnished with love pearls and candied fruit.
Snow-white torrone
Torrone is also known as white nougat. It originally came to Spain with the Moors and from there made its way to Italy. Torrone comes in two varieties: crunchy and firm (friabile) and creamy and soft (morbido). In principle, torrone cream consists only of meadow blossom honey and egg white. The egg whites are whipped and gently heated and stirred with the honey in a large copper kettle (for up to six hours, depending on the desired degree of hardness). Once the right consistency has been reached, pistachios, hazelnuts or almonds are added. The finished torrone mixture is then pressed into a wooden mold and cut to size. The layer of wafers that encloses the torrone is typical of Italian torrone.
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