Mostacciolo, Mustazzoli

One of the most common of the Italian biscuits, mostacciolo (or mustazzoli in Sicilian) are made and eaten in many regions, although there are usually slight variations on the basic recipe.

The hard dry biscuits, which used to be made by the Ancient Romans, consist of a mixture of plain flour, cooked grape juices (the product of wine-making called must) or honey, and spices like cinnamon, clove and nutmeg; but they do not contain either yeast or eggs. When the mixture has been worked into a firm dough, it is rolled out to a height of 1 cm (½ inch), cut into lozenge shapes and baked in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes. When they are removed from the oven they are brushed with a glaze made up of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water and left to dry and cool.