{"title":"Antonio Mattei","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eAntonio Mattei has been baking Biscotti di Prato since 1858\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Biscottificio Antonio Mattei in Prato is the oldest cookie bakery still operating in Tuscany. Since September 29, 1858, they have been crafting Biscotti di Prato from just five ingredients, without butter or yeast. To this day, they are still wrapped by hand in blue paper and tied with a string.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAntonio Mattei\u003c\/strong\u003e stands for a single pastry and its consistent repetition: the Cantuccini from Prato, baked in the same bakery in the town center since 1858. The building at Via Ricasoli 20–22 is still known by the locals in Prato as the \"Mattonella,\" and if you are carrying a blue bag under your arm, there is nothing left to explain in this city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe carry the Cantuccini La Mattonella in two sizes. That is all that is needed, because for over 160 years, the house has essentially done the same thing—and done it with a stubbornness that you only truly appreciate once you have the first cookie in your mouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e1858 on Via Ricasoli, between bread and pasta\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAntonio Mattei opened a bakery in the historic center of Prato on September 29, 1858. Initially, he baked bread and made pasta; the pastries came later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing the city's traditional recipes, he created his own version of almond biscotti, and it struck a chord. By 1861, his pastry was awarded in Florence, a year later in London, and in 1867 in Paris. When Mattei died in 1885, he left his sons, Cesare and Emilio, a thriving business.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1904, Emilio sold the shop to Egisto Ciampolini and Tommaso Pandolfini. Ciampolini's wife, Italia Piccioli, brought her own recipe, the Brutti Buoni, which are still baked in Prato today. Even though Ernesto Pandolfini, Tommaso's son, introduced the first machine to the bakery in the 1920s, the core of the work remained manual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrato still likes to argue about where the nickname comes from. Some say it comes from the firm consistency of the cookies, others attribute it to the phonetic similarity with the name Mattei, while others point to a renovation during which the shop walls were covered with striking tiles. The most sober explanation is found in a dictionary: in 1915, Policarpo Petrocchi simply defined \"mattonella\" as a brick-shaped sweet pastry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eTwo sizes, one cookie, five ingredients\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe offer the Cantuccini La Mattonella in a small and a large bag. Same dough, same oven; only the quantity differs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-250g\"\u003e250-gram bag\u003c\/a\u003e is the perfect size for getting to know them and makes for a beautiful gift: paper, string, a tag, nothing else. The \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-500g\"\u003e500-gram bag\u003c\/a\u003e is the right amount for a household that receives guests—it lasts through a weekend, through a week of Advent, or through an entire coffee gathering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you break one open, you see what the house stands for: unpeeled almonds with a 20 percent content, whole pine nuts, all held together by a light, firm dough. Nutty, crunchy, understated. Anyone who only knows Cantuccini from the supermarket shelf will hear the difference with the very first bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe packaging is part of the experience. The paper is folded and rolled at the top, a string holds it together, and a paper tag simply states \"Biscotti di Prato.\" No window, no foil, no aluminum in the paper. If you want to open the bag, you have to untie a knot—a small effort that makes unpacking a deliberate act rather than just tearing it open.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFive ingredients and nothing else\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWheat flour, sugar, eggs from free-range hens, almonds, pine nuts. This is the complete ingredient list, and it hasn't changed since 1858.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Pochi ingredienti, scelti con rigore” – few ingredients, rigorously selected – is the house’s philosophy, and the consequence is remarkable: no butterfat, no yeast, no baking powder, no flavorings, no preservatives. The flour is 100 percent Italian, the almonds come from the EU and remain unpeeled because the brown skin adds that slight bitterness that peeled almonds lose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dough goes into the oven at 180 to 190 degrees Celsius as elongated \"filoncini\" and is then cut diagonally into two-centimeter-wide pieces—hence the pointed shape everyone recognizes. Because there are no preservatives, the house specifies a shelf life of three months from the baking date. Artisan, thrifty, constant: the restraint is the real recipe here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBaking happens daily at the same address as in 1858. The bakery is located in the family palazzo in the center of Prato, the shop in front at Via Ricasoli 20–22—the same rooms, the same street, the same recipe. In an industry where recipes are optimized every few years, this is a quiet statement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAwards from five cities and a postage stamp\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe awards from the 19th century read like a travel itinerary: Florence 1861, London 1862, Paris 1867, Pistoia 1870, Forlì 1871.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, the most beautiful sentence written about Antonio Mattei did not come from a jury, but from Pellegrino Artusi, the patron saint of Italian culinary literature. He called him a brave man with a \"genius for his craft\"—and anyone who knows Artusi knows how sparing he was with praise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe recognition has not ceased. In 2016, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development dedicated a postage stamp to the biscotti bakery, and the house is listed in the register of historic Italian companies. In 2019, the most unusual addition followed: the blue of the bag, used since the 1880s, has since been registered as a color trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. In the Italian food sector, only one other company had achieved this before. Bravo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo celebrate their 160th anniversary in 2018, the four siblings opened a \"Museo Bottega\" in Florence on Via Porta Rossa, half shop, half exhibition, where the house's history is told in five sections. No baking happens there—that stays in Prato, in the old laboratory in the family palazzo, where it has been baked since time immemorial.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWith espresso, with grappa, as a gift\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Prato, you dip the Cantuccini in Vin Santo until the edge softens. This is the classic way, and it works with any dessert wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTry them with an espresso after a meal or with a mild \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/grappa\"\u003egrappa\u003c\/a\u003e—the almond pairs well with brandy. If you prefer savory, serve them with aged Pecorino and a spoonful of honey. And if you are planning an entire Tuscan evening, you will find salumi from Chianti at \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/macelleria-falorni\"\u003eMacelleria Falorni\u003c\/a\u003e and everything else you need in our \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/italien\"\u003eItalian selection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf there are any left at the bottom of the bag, don't throw them away. A hard cookie is not a weakness, but an ingredient: coarsely chopped over vanilla ice cream, crumbled into a Tiramisu base, or processed with butter and sugar into a tart crust. Our tip for the last crumbs: into your breakfast milk, just as they do with every hard cookie in Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a gift, the blue bag is always a safe bet, precisely because it makes so little fuss. You can find more classics from France and Italy in our \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/sussgeback\"\u003epastry selection\u003c\/a\u003e. A cookie made from five ingredients, unchanged since 1858—just the way Francesco, Marcella, Elisabetta, and Letizia Pandolfini have them baked today in the fourth generation. Let yourself be surprised by how much is packed into so little.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","products":[{"product_id":"antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-250g","title":"Cantuccini La Mattonella – 250g","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eCantuccini La Mattonella from Prato in the blue bag\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCantuccini La Mattonella are the Biscotti di Prato by Antonio Mattei, baked from five ingredients with unpeeled almonds and pine nuts. No butter, no yeast, no flavorings. Each bag is hand-filled and tied with a string.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCantuccini La Mattonella\u003c\/strong\u003e are the almond biscuits with which the baker Antonio Mattei started in Prato in 1858 and which continue to define Tuscany to this day. 250 grams come to you in the blue paper bag, folded over at the top, tied by hand, and finished with a paper tag simply labeled Biscotti di Prato.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe biscuits owe their nickname to an old dictionary. In 1915, Policarpo Petrocchi listed \"mattonella\" as a brick-shaped pastry, and because the Pratesi called their bakery that anyway, the name stuck to the biscuits. La Mattonella, the little brick – a nickname that has made it all the way onto the packaging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 250-gram bag is the perfect size for getting to know them and, at the same time, the one that makes the most beautiful gift. No ribbon, no plastic, no little window: just paper, string, and a tag. That is enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCrunchy, hearty, authentic\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese cantuccini break dry and loud, and in the break, you can see why: unpeeled almonds, whole pine nuts, and a light, firm dough in between.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe almond content is 20 percent; the brown skin remains on, bringing that slightly bitter note that peeled almonds lose. There is no butter in the dough, and no other fat added – the richness you taste comes solely from the nuts. That is why they stay crunchy for so long, and that is why the second biscuit tastes just as clean as the first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey are sweet, but not cloyingly so. The sugar supports the almond instead of covering it up – a biscuit that works in the mouth rather than melting away. Anyone who only knows cantuccini from the supermarket shelf will hear the difference with the very first bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWith espresso, dessert wine, or a long evening\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Prato, they dip them in Vin Santo until the edge softens. This is the classic way, and it works with any dessert wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey go just as well with an espresso after a meal as they do alongside a mild \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/grappa\"\u003egrappa from Trentino\u003c\/a\u003e – almond pairs well with brandy. And if one bag gets to be too small for the afternoon, the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-500g\"\u003elarge 500-gram bag\u003c\/a\u003e is waiting nearby.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is best to use a tin for storage, because while the paper bag keeps the biscuit wonderfully dry, it is not as easy to retie nicely after opening. For leftovers, if there are any, there are two ways: coarsely chopped over vanilla ice cream or crumbled into a tiramisu base.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFive ingredients and an oven in Via Ricasoli\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWheat flour, sugar, free-range eggs, almonds, pine nuts. That is all there is on the ingredient list, and that is all there was in 1858.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dough goes into the oven as oblong filoncini at 180 to 190 degrees for a good twenty minutes and is then cut diagonally into two-centimeter-wide pieces – hence the pointed shape. Baking still takes place in the historic laboratory in the center of Prato, now in the fourth generation, just as Francesco, Marcella, Elisabetta, and Letizia Pandolfini inherited it from their father, Paolo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause there are no preservatives used, Cantuccini La Mattonella have a shelf life of three months from the day of baking. You can find more about the house and its 19th-century awards at \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/antonio-mattei\"\u003eAntonio Mattei\u003c\/a\u003e, and other classics in our \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/suessgebaeck\"\u003esweet biscuits\u003c\/a\u003e section. A biscuit made from five ingredients, unchanged since 1858. Remarkable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Antonio Mattei","offers":[{"title":"250 g","offer_id":53071206089038,"sku":"031VIA8320","price":10.75,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0905\/1124\/5646\/files\/viani-antonio-mattei-biscotti-di-prato-mandel.jpg?v=1750979866"},{"product_id":"antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-500g","title":"Cantuccini La Mattonella – 500g","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eHalf a Kilo of Biscotti di Prato from Antonio Mattei\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 500-gram bag of Cantuccini La Mattonella is the almond pastry with which Antonio Mattei began winning awards in Florence, London, and Paris in 1861. To this day, they are still baked in Prato using the same five-ingredient recipe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCantuccini La Mattonella\u003c\/strong\u003e is the name given to the Biscotti di Prato from the oldest operating biscotti bakery in Tuscany, founded on September 29, 1858. The large bag holds 500 grams, sealed with a cord and a paper tag—just as the people of Prato have been carrying their cookies home since the 1880s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is worth not tearing the bag open immediately. The blue on it has been registered as a color trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office since 2019, and in Italy’s food sector, only one other company besides this house has managed to achieve that. A blue with a title deed, so to speak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Prato, you can recognize the bag from a hundred meters away. It sits on the kitchen table on Sundays, it travels across the fence to neighbors on holidays, and it has hardly changed for over a hundred years—rolled paper closure, cord, tag, finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSimple, honest, enduring\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBreak a cookie in two and the almonds are revealed—whole, with brown skin, with small light pine nuts in between.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dough is crisp and understated in sweetness because it is made without any added fat. No buttery aroma settles over the almond, no yeast makes it airy, no baking powder puffs it up. What remains is nut, egg, and toasted flour—dry in the best sense, with a finish that lingers surprisingly long.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd yes, the cookies are hard. That is part of it, for they are built for dipping, not for casual snacking. Those who eat them dry are in for a serious chew.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe large bag for long evenings\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e500 grams is the right amount for a household where guests drop by. It lasts through a weekend, through a week of Advent, through a whole afternoon coffee gathering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServe the cantuccini at the end of an Italian meal, in a shallow bowl, with dessert wine on the side. They taste especially good with aged pecorino and a spoonful of honey, if you prefer something savory. If you would rather start small, opt for the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/antonio-mattei-cantuccini-la-mattonella-250g\"\u003e250-gram bag\u003c\/a\u003e; if you would like to add something else to go with them, you will find suitable companions in the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/italien\"\u003eItalian assortment\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe leftovers at the bottom of the bag always find a use: coarsely chopped over vanilla ice cream, crumbled into a tiramisu base, or processed with butter and sugar into a tart crust. A hard cookie is not a problem, but an ingredient.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause there are no preservatives in the dough, the manufacturer indicates three months from the baking date. Stored in a dry, dark place, ideally in a tin, the Cantuccini La Mattonella will easily last that long. The cookies do not like humid kitchen air at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAwards from five cities and praise from Artusi\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe baker Antonio Mattei began with bread and pasta in 1858 on Via Ricasoli, only later discovering the pastry that would bear his name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe list of awards reads like an itinerary: Florence 1861, London 1862, Paris 1867, Pistoia 1870, Forlì 1871. Pellegrino Artusi, the patron saint of Italian culinary literature, called him a stalwart man with a \"genius for his craft.\" In 2016, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development dedicated a postage stamp to the house.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bakery has been in other hands since 1904, just as Emilio Mattei handed it over to Egisto Ciampolini and Tommaso Pandolfini at the time. The Pandolfinis are still baking today, now in the fourth generation. You can find out how that came to be at \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/antonio-mattei\"\u003eAntonio Mattei\u003c\/a\u003e, and more cookies from France and Italy in our \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/suessgebaeck\"\u003esweet pastry\u003c\/a\u003e section.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antonio Mattei","offers":[{"title":"500 g","offer_id":53071260254542,"sku":"031VIA8321","price":17.75,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0905\/1124\/5646\/files\/viani-antonio-mattei-biscotti-di-prato-mandel_e9b28ad1-eb40-4872-ac72-149499aaf4d8.jpg?v=1750981345"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0905\/1124\/5646\/collections\/antonio-mattei-shop.png?v=1768229614","url":"https:\/\/norgutes.com\/en\/collections\/antonio-mattei.oembed","provider":"nur Gutes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}