Italian Holiday Favorites: Cantucci, Amaretti, Biscotti and more

Pour a glass of vino and curl up by the fire, or bake along with us in this class devoted to exploring the diverse holiday baking traditions of Italy.

In this class, Anna Mays will teach and demo how to bake a decadent assortment of favorite regional Christmas cookies from across Italy, including:

Amaretti – soft almond cookies wildly popular throughout Italy, made from both sweet and bitter almonds. We’ll learn a favorite regional recipe from Sienna (gluten-free)

Biscotti & Cantucci – a foolproof recipe for the classic double baked almond biscuit that dates back to Roman times and their Tuscan cousin Cantucci, flavored with sweet wine and anise

Ricci di mandorle - Sicilian almond cookies with a colorful candied fruit center

Pizzelle – the classic waffle snowflake cookies, the favorite Christmas treat of Abruzzo

Cannoli con Pizzelle – an innovative variation with rolled pizzelle cookies and sweetened ricotta cream (easy to make in a home kitchen and no deep frying!)

Fichi secchi calabresi - Calabrian fig stuffed with candied citrus and walnut; in Calabria, figs are obligatory at the Christmas table (gluten-free)

While we bake, we will learn about the history and origins of these cookie recipes and the festive traditions around how they are prepared, served and enjoyed during the holidays in different regions of Italy today. Recipes and a list of baking tools will be emailed before the class so you can bake along or just sit back and learn about the techniques and stories.

The class includes a Q&A with lots of opportunities to ask questions.