Chocolate Pine Nut Cantuccini

One of my best friends here in Norway bought her first own apartment a couple of weeks ago....and as she is a passionate baker like I am .... not to forget a trained culinary chef (which I am definitely NOT), the kitchen that came with the apartment didn't meet her demands. So, off we went to the nearest IKEA (a 4 hour drive from our village of Molde....yes, IKEA stores are far apart here in Norway, strangely enough) to get one of those flat packed kitchens.

Putting all the cabinets together wasn't a problem, but there were some electric sockets that either needed rewiring or to be moved, and some plumbing needed to be done. So, all of a sudden her apartment got run down by handymen. What keeps handymen happy? Coffee, cakes and cookies!

So I made some Chocolate Pine Nut Cantuccini in my own kitchen (which also could do with an IKEA make-over) to bring over....Ok, cantuccini might be a bit fancy, and not as butch as these handymen...but these are delicious! First the rich chocolate taste hits your palate, then the pine nuts add texture and right in the end....a hint of lemon. You really have to make these at least once!! The recipe is from the Dutch cookbook TIP Bakken, which unfortunately seems not to be available anymore.

Chocolate Pine Nut Cantuccini
(makes about 30)

Ingredients:
1 egg
2 egg yolks
175 gr sugar
175 gr all-purpose flour
40 gr cacao
1/2 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt
125 gr pine nuts
1-2 tsp of lemon (or lime) zest

1.) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
2.) Mix the egg together with one of the egg yolks and the sugar until it forms a light and airy mixture.
3.) Sift the flour, cacao and baking powder into the egg/sugar mixture, and add the salt, pine nuts and lemon/lime zest as well.
4.) Knead the mixture until it forms a dough.
5.) Shape the dough into rectangulars which are approximately 3 cm wide and 1 cm thick, and place them unto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

6.) Whisk the last egg yolk with a fork, and brush the dough with it.
7.) Bake the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.
8.) Remove from the oven, and let the cookies cool down a bit. Then cut the rectangulars up into smaller pieces, approximately 1 cm wide.
9.) Put the pieces back unto the baking tray lined with parchment paper, and bake them  another 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, until crunchy.
10.) Let the cantuccini cool down on a rack.

Serve these cookies with your favourite type of coffee....whether it's a latte or an espresso....dip them into the cofee and enjoy!