Each Winter holiday season, along with my tried-and-true decorated sugar cookies, I like to introduce at least one new recipe to the fold. This year we were struck by the chocolatey appearance of these Pizzettes in the latest Bon Appétit magazine, and knew they had to become part-and-parcel of our baking agenda.
They are an Italian classic with fudgy texture, piercing bittersweet chocolate, almonds, citrus zest, and a heady undertone of cinnamon and clove. They sounded so good, I decided to make a double batch in addition to double batches of three other cookie batters—all on the same morning!
Please note, that the almonds need to be blitzed in the food processor and the chocolate chips should be chopped before adding to the dough. I only ground the almonds and didn’t realize I should have chopped the chocolate chips until after I made the dough and read the reviewers comments. (Chopping them makes it easier to cut into bars.)
As far as cutting the dough into cookies, I did it a little differently than the instructions below. My log of dough was very firm after refrigerating it all night. So I made 1-inch thick slices vertically across the log. Then I cut each slice in half, then in half again at a diagonal.
With a good bit of chocolate glaze left over, I thickened it with more powdered sugar and then used a spoon to drizzle over each bar to give more visual interest and contrast.
Chocolatey Pizzettes
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup raw skin-on almonds
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips, chopped
- 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
Glaze and Assembly
- 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tsp. unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- Pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Cookies
- Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Toast almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until slightly darkened in color and fragrant, 7–10 minutes. Let cool, then blitz in a food processor. Set aside.
- Increase oven temperature to 375°.
- Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes to infuse.
- Whisk granulated sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Pour in spiced butter, scraping pan so you don’t leave any spices behind, and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Add egg and egg yolk; whisk vigorously to combine. Mix in dry ingredients, then almonds, chocolate chips, lemon zest, and orange zest.
- Turn out onto a clean surface. Divide in half, then roll each half into a log about 1½” wide. Flatten logs to 2″ wide and slice on a diagonal into 1″-wide cookies. Divide between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing at least 1″ apart.
- Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until firm around edges but still soft in the middle, 8–10 minutes. Let cool.
Glaze and Assembly
- Melt chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), stirring occasionally, or melt in a small microwave-safe bowl in a microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between bursts.
- Add powdered sugar, salt, and 2 Tbsp. boiling water and whisk until glaze is smooth and glossy.
- Dip tops of cookies into glaze and let sit, glaze side up, on a wire rack until glaze is set, about 2 hours.
- Optional: If you have leftover glaze, thicken it with more powdered sugar and then drizzle with a spoon over each bar, zig zagging as you go.
Do ahead: Pizzettes can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature, or freeze up to 1 month.
Recipe by Chris Morocco for Bon Apétit
Accounting for Taste 