Mustazzueli

These simple almond cookies from Puglia seem incredibly hard when you first attempt to bite into them, but once in your mouth they crumble very satisfactorily, and can also be dunked in dessert wine. A similar style of biscuit or cookie is made in the Cosenza area of Calabria, where they are known as mostaccioli. The Calabrian recipe adds a little aniseed liqueur and some grated orange rind to the mixture, and the resulting texture is lighter.