Once used only to bake the fanciful soldiers on horseback given to children on the festival of San Martino, the short, buttery dough, in less fantastical shapes and forms, is a daily offering now in every pasticceria, luscious even with the slurring of its namesake.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and 8 ounces butter and beat until smooth. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, incorporating each thoroughly. Add the liqueur, the citrus zests, the raisins, walnuts, and almonds, combining them well.
Step 3
Press the dough evenly into a buttered 10- to 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake the pastry for 25 to 30 minutes or until it is deeply golden. Cool the pastry on a rack for 10 minutes before removing the tart pan’s ring.
Step 4
Permit the pastry to cool thoroughly before dusting it generously with confectioners’ sugar. Cut the pastry into wedges, serving it with cold, ambered wine.
