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.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6 to 8

　　2 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 cup brown sugar

　　1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

　　8 ounces sweet butter, slightly softened, plus additional for tart pan

　　4 large egg yolks, beaten

　　2 tablespoons orange-scented liqueur, Cointreau or Grand Marnier

　　Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

　　Finely grated zest of 1 orange

　　1/2 cup white raisins, plumped in warm water

　　1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

　　1/2 cup blanched almonds, chopped and lightly toasted

　　Confectioners’ sugar

　　

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.

　　A Taste of Southern Italy