All Souls & All Saints Biscuits

by Grazia Barletta · Published November 2, 2024 · Updated November 22, 2024

On November 1 (or the following Sunday) and 2, Catholics around the world observe the feasts of All Saints and All Souls respectively. These are days of remembrance as families honour the souls of their deceased loved ones, especially by visiting their gravesides or gardens of remembrance.

In some countries, it is a public holiday, and schools and most businesses are closed. In Italy, on All Saints Day most people attend Mass. All Souls Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance.

Of course, in Italy, no celebration is marked without some kind of customary treat. The feast of All Souls, or la Festa di Morti (feast of the dead), is marked by biscuits called Ossi di Morto, which are made to resemble the bones of the dead — hence their name, which means “Bones of the Dead”.

These traditional Italian biscuits are gluten-free and almond-flavoured with a delicate lemon scent and a wonderful chewy texture. They are easy to prepare and keep well in an airtight container for up to a week — if you haven’t eaten them all at once!

Preparation: 30 min (incl. baking) Servings: 25 biscuits

Ingredients:

1 egg • 2 cups of almond flour • ½ cup chopped toasted almonds • 1 tsp lemon zest • ¾ tsp baking powder • 1 tsp vanilla essence • 1 tsp almond essence • 1 pinch salt • ½ cup of sugar• Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a baking tray with wax/baking paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, extracts and egg until blended.
Stir in the almond flour, baking powder, salt and lastly the chopped almonds.
Place mixture onto a lightly floured (you can use cake flour) hard surface and gently knead for a minute or two with your hands until smooth. (The dough will be a bit sticky.)
Cut off pieces of dough and roll into logs about 2cm in diameter and 20 cm long. Once you have the logs, divide them into further pieces around 6-8 cm in length.
Place the logs on the baking sheet a few centimetres apart.
Bake the biscuits for about 10-12 minutes for a softer and chewy biscuit, or up to 15 minutes if you prefer it crunchier.
Let the cookies cool completely and lightly dust with icing sugar. They are delicious dunked in Vin Santo or your favourite liqueur, tea and coffee.

Grazia Barletta is an author, book designer, and food photographer & stylist. She can be contacted at . Follow her blog at www.momentswithgrazia.com and connect with Grazia on Facebook: momentswithgrazia; Instagram: momentswithgrazia