During Lent, in grocery stores, bakeries, pastry shops, and even supermarkets in Florence and Prato, you can always find a package of chocolate letter-shaped cookies. What are they? Quaresimali.

A dough with a consistency similar to meringue, without fat or yeast, which is still arranged in special shapes.

The name

 At the end of the great Carnival celebrations,when sweets and fried desserts are served ,comes the period of Lent in preparation for Easter ,which provides a break for the spirit and the food, when light meals are served and desserts must be delicate.

These are called “ di magro” lean recipes, often originating in convents and monasteries, devoid of meat, animal products, and animal fats.

In Tuscany—specifically between Prato and Florence—these sweets spread from a convent between the 18th and 19th centuries.

Perfect for the season, Quaresimali cookies/biscuits do not require animal fats like butter and lard, dairy products of any kind, yeast, or other ingredients considered festive. In fact, the oldest recipes call for only beaten egg whites, sugar, and bitter cocoa, sometimes with the addition of almond or hazelnut flour. This explains their unique consistency, more similar to a dense meringue than a biscuit, their thin, compact surface, slightly moist interior, and intense flavor.

Why letters of the alphabet?

These cookies/biscuits shaped like letters just as a simply reminder of the Word and the Holy Scriptures in preparation for Easter. It’s also a way to entertain children and give them an opportunity for play that’s both educational and pedagogical.

The cocoa-colored letters were born in the kitchens of convents, but nowadays you can find them in grocery stores and pastry shops of Prato and Firenze, already wrapped in elegant boxes or tins.

If you want to make them at home, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

80 g=1/3 cup egg whites (about 2 eggs)

100 g=3/4 cup+2-3 tbsp. unsifted vanilla-flavored powdered sugar

100 g =4/5 cup 00 flour=all-purpose flour

25 g=1/4 cup hazelnut flour

25 g=1/4 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

8 g=2 level tsp baking powder

1 pinch =1/16 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually incorporating the sugar.

Add the hazelnut flour, stirring with a spatula. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and pinch of cinnamon, then fold the dry ingredients into the mixture, slowly folding in with the spatula from the bottom up.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the mixture into a sac a poche (pastry bag/piping bag)

Draw the letters, slightly spaced apart, and let them rest for 1.5 hours. Bake at 130°C (250°F) for 10 minutes.


If you have the occasion to be in Tuscany in March /April taste the Quaresimali otherwise prepare them yourself. You’ll love them !