Tozzetti with Nutella®

Far from a sleepy village, Caprarola's social life is vibrant, rediscovering the pleasure of being together, of simple gestures, and of the value of making. Women still make pasta at home, and of course the town's signature dessert: tozzetti. These are dry biscuits made by slicing a loaf of dough while it's still warm, then baking it a second time in the oven, just as the original recipe and name dictate: "bis-cotti" (twice baked). Don't call them cantucci, though! Cantucci are made with almonds and are common throughout Tuscany, while tozzetti are typical of the Viterbo area and are prepared with hazelnuts from the Cimini Mountains—and traditionally with lard. Like many Italian desserts, they are humble recipes that used whatever was available, such as local dried fruit and honey, and a few ingredients that needed to be worked by hand.

To prepare them, we met with Luca, head of the Pro Loco (local tourist board) and appointed to oversee the area's cultural and tourism activities. He was the perfect person to guide us through the streets of Caprarola and help us make this traditional local dessert. In Caprarola, each family preserves and passes down their own recipe; some add liqueurs or other ingredients. We wanted to add a delicious twist: a dollop of Nutella® and toasted hazelnuts.

Ingredients for a box of tozzetti 800 g flour 150 g lard 4 eggs 400 g sugar 400 g peeled hazelnuts 50 g milk 1 g baking powder grated zest of one lemon 200 g Nutella®.

Preparation: Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the lard, yeast, grated lemon zest, milk, and toasted hazelnuts, peeled and chopped into large pieces or whole.

Stirring constantly, gradually add the flour, until the dough becomes very soft, almost like bread dough. Shape the dough into long cylinders, which will then be flattened slightly until they form loaves 7-8 cm wide and 2 cm high. Place the loaves on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake the sheets at 160°C in a conventional oven until the surface of the loaves is a nice amber color (about 20 minutes). Once cooked, remove from the oven and, before completely cooling, cut crosswise into pieces just over 1 cm wide and about 2 cm high.

To finish the job, place the biscuits back on the baking trays, always lined with baking paper, place them one by one on the cutting surface, and put them in the oven, still at 160°C for a few minutes, so as to give a light toasting also on the sides of the biscuit.

Place Nutella® in a pastry bag with a star tip and decorate each piece, covering it halfway. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and serve.