The Italian-Style Chocolate Cookie That Stars Ground Beef

If a pastry recipe made with meat doesn't make sense in your mind, Sicilians are here to demonstrate otherwise. In Modica, Sicily, a spiced mixture of ground veal or beef is whipped with egg, chocolate, and nuts and tucked inside folded biscuit cookies. 'Mpanatigghi, as they are called, are half-moon sweets dusted with sugar and can be enjoyed with an Italian dessert wine, a perfectly poured espresso, boozy caffè corretti, or an Italian liqueur like Rosolio or Fernet-Branca.

Someone who isn't familiar with the recipe may have no idea they are chowing down on a meat-filled goodie. The small treats draw parallels to Spanish empanadas, which isn't a complete coincidence, as empanada means enveloped in bread and 'mpanatigghi is thought to borrow from the word). These folded biscuits are commonly served around Easter time, and culinary lore attribute the invention to crafty nuns who began sneaking ground meat into chocolate and almond cookies to pass to fellow cloistered ascetics during the fasting period of Lent.

'Mpanatigghi have been traced back to the 16th century when Spain occupied Sicily. Because Sicily was part of the Spanish kingdom, residents saw ingredients like cacao and chocolate arrive from South America, and a longstanding history of various chocolate recipes began. Modica, where the crescent-shaped cookies are from, boasts four centuries of chocolate making. To this day, streets are still lined with chocolatiers, and Sicily's oldest chocolate shop Antica Dolceria Bonajuto (established in 1880) continues to crank out treats. Other local bakers continue to make passed-down recipes of 'mpanatigghi and sell them alongside traditional Italian biscuits made with honey and figs.

The crust of 'mpanatigghi cookies is thin and gives way easily to the filling inside. Cinnamon, ginger, and crushed cloves are often used to flavor the chocolatey minced meat filling, and dried fruit and vanilla can be added to recipes for variations in flavor. For those who don't eat meat, not to worry, the Italians have made sure that you, too, can partake in the simple enjoyment with a vegetarian-friendly version that swaps out meat ingredients for eggplant.