Chocolate cantucci: baked twice, doubly irresistible

Add White flour, Baking powder, granulated sugar, salt, vanilla seeds, the finely grated orange zest and the cold butter, cut into cubes, into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour in the beaten whole egg. Keep a small amount of egg back, which you will use later to brush the rolls.

Chop the couverture roughly; the pieces can be of varying sizes. Add them to the bowl. Choose a not-too-dark couverture, otherwise it will overpower the delicate flavour of the chocolate cantucci.

Knead everything by hand into a dough. Then tip it onto the work surface and knead briefly until it holds together nicely.

Shape the dough into a thick log and divide it into two equal halves. Roll each half with flat hands into an elongated log with a diameter of 2.5 to 3 cm. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Place the two logs side by side and compare them. With a ruler you can see straight away whether both are the same length and thickness. This way they will bake evenly.

Place the logs on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving some space between them, and brush them with the remaining whole egg. Bake them in the preheated oven at 180 °C for about 20 minutes.

Let the logs cool for only about 5 minutes, then cut them with a sharp serrated bread knife at a slight diagonal into slices about 1 cm thick. Don't wait too long: the colder the logs get, the more they crumble when cut.

Place the slices back on the baking sheet, cut side up, and bake them for another 5 to 10 minutes until they are dry and lightly golden. Let them cool on the sheet, where they will become wonderfully crisp.

Your chocolate cantucci are ready! They taste best with an espresso. Or, the Italian way: in Italy, cantucci are served with a small glass of Vin Santo, and you dip them in.