Muscovitas

Everywhere you look in Oviedo, you will see them. Once you know what the little box is, you will find it absolutely everywhere. Moscovitas. The emblematic cookie. A concoction of almonds and chocolate, barely held together by a lace of sugar and flour.

They are a storied sweet in these parts, with rumors of secret ingredients and wartime smuggling origins. But, the truth is often more prosaic. Here’s what I do know for sure.

What’s in The Name ‘Moscovitas’?

The invention (and exclusive commercial property) of Confitería Rialto, moscovitas have a long history in Oviedo. They also have a long history of legends about their origin. Many people believe, and repeat on the internet, a story about the second world war. Supposedly, a soldier returned to Spain from the Soviet Union with a matryoshka doll in his suitcase. In the center of the matryoshka was a recipe, in Cyrillic, for this cookie.

The bakery went so far as to acknowledge, and attempt to dispel the story for the 80th anniversary of the cookie. They made a limited edition of boxes in the shape of a matryoshka that included that story inside, with an explanation that it was a legend, and not true. It did nothing to quiet the rumors. Instead, the internet is ablaze with the origin story.

The family does not actually know anything concrete about its origin. They do know that the name was in use in pastry books in the 1950s. As well, a pastry chef who was in the bakery with the first generation of owners wrote a cookbook in which the name ‘Moscovites’ is used. They claim that this pastry chef was Russian, but it during the war so they doubt it was a deliberate naming at that point anyway.

The Secret Moscovita Ingredient

There are also legends about a secret ingredient in moscovitas. Supposedly one that makes them literally addictive. Now, it is true that chefs, particularly pastry chefs, are a secretive lot. A hazard of the trade is that anything successful will be copied, and there is (thankfully) no such thing as intellectual property rights to a recipe.

Security through obscurity worked for many chefs for a very long time. But then came mandatory labeling laws. And after that, ingredient origin labels. So now everyone who sells a product must give away their secrets. And the secret to moscovitas is this: they use only Levantine marconas. Supposedly the fat content is higher than both the Spanish and American varieties. Personally, I see so little difference between the two types. I would recommend buying whatever marconas you can find that are not coated in sunflower oil and fried. If you have access to chocolate couverture, please use that. If not, use your favorite milk or dark chocolate.

Ingredients

• 100 g Marcona Almonds.
• 100 g powdered sugar.
• 100 g heavy whipping cream. 35% fat or higher preferred.
• 20 g all-purpose flour.
• 150 g milk chocolate. dark chocolate works just as well, but the milk chocolate is more traditional

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 170C (340 F).
2. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. The pan should be dark colored if possible. We need to really scorch the bottom of these cookies to not make them turn floppy.
3. Prepare a double boiler. I use a metal mixing bowl in a heavy sauce pan personally, but if you have an actual double boiler, so much the better.
4. In a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the cream. When the cream begins to boil, remove from the heat.
5. Stir in the (almond) flour and the chopped almonds.
6. Combine until it has the consistency of too-thin oatmeal. Seriously, this is not like a normal cookie dough. You will assume the measurements are wrong and you need more flour. DO NOT ADD ANY. This almost liquid mess is EXACTLY what you are looking for.
7. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
8. Scoop the mixture onto your baking sheet in small (walnut sized) mounds. Leave ample space between the mounds, as the cookie will spread quite a bit during baking
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven. You’ll know they’re done when they have a browned, almost burnt, rim around the outside edge. Turn out upside down on a cooling rack.
10. Melt your chocolate in the double boiler over low heat. Stir well and adjust the heat until the chocolate stays liquid but does not bubble at all.
11. Using a pastry brush, coat the bottoms of the cooling cookies with the chocolate.
12. Let cool completely.

Notes

• Ideally, serve with very strong coffee, anise liquor or orujo de hierbas