Spiced chocolate cookies (rame di Napoli)

These double-chocolate dolci are one of my favourite recipes from Sicily. 

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) cocoa powder
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (25 ml) baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 70 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1½ tsp (7.5 ml) honey
• Zest of 1 orange
• ⅔ cup (160 ml) milk

To finish

• ½ cup apricot jam, warmed
• 400 g (14 oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 60 g unsalted butter
• ¾ cup chopped pistachios, toasted

Cooling and drying time: about 1 hour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a tray with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Add eggs, butter, honey, zest and milk and mix with a hand mixer until a homogenous, slightly sticky batter forms.

3. Using a 30 ml (1 oz) ice-cream scoop, scoop batter onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookie has darkened in colour, but it still soft.

4. Remove from oven and let cool.

5. Place the apricot jam in a small bowl, then brush each cookie with a thin layer of jam (if the jam is thick, you can mix it with a small amout of water).

6. In a bain marie, melt the dark chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally, until glassy and smooth, then remove from heat. Flip a cookie over and dip in chocolate until the entire top is coated, then place dipped side up on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a generous amount of pistachios. Repeat until all cookies are glazed and garnished with pistachios. Leave to dry, then serve. Buon Appetito!

These double-chocolate dolci are one of my favourite recipes from Sicily.