Moscauer is closely related to the famous Florentine, these small tea biscuits are mainly baked on festive occasions. It would be hard to find out who and when prepared it first, and whether its recipe comes from Moscow or not. The recipe might have appeared in Hungary at the end of the 19th century.

Moscauer can be made from walnut, hazelnut or almond, but whichever oilseeds you choose, taste won’t disappoint you. It’s not difficult to bake these orange miracles at home, you only have to pay attention to some small details. If you don’t use pre-packed orange peels, it’s very important to buy organic, untreated oranges in order to avoid having chemical residues in your biscuits.

Ingredients:

• 150 g (~5 1/4 oz) roughly ground walnuts
• 150 g (~3/4 cup) sugar
• 50 g (~1/4 cup) butter
• 20 g (~2 1/2 tbsp) flour
• 70 g (~2 1/2 oz) finely chopped orange rind
• 100 ml (~1/2 cup) cream
• 1 tsp. white rum
• 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) bittersweet chocolate

Put the ground walnut, sugar, butter, chopped orange rind, cream and rum in a saucepan. While stirring continuously bring it to a boil over medium heat, then turn off the heat immediately. Don’t cook, otherwise the paste becomes thick and doesn’t spread during baking. Mix in the flour, then let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm.

Preheat the oven to 170°C / 338°F.

With 2 teaspoons dipped in water portion out small piles of batter and place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving 2-inch space between the piles. Flatten the piles with the back of the teaspoon. Place them in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes until piles spread and edges get light brown. Let them cool until they set a bit.

With a turning spatula place the disks flat side up onto a wire rack very carefully to cool them completely.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate over a pan of simmering water and coat the even side of the biscuits. If the chocolate sets, place the biscuits into an airtight metal container, separating the layers with parchment paper.