Italian Sweets in Taormina, Sicily

August 20, 2009 · 17 Comments

Taormina sits high on a cliff in the eastern province of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. It is a charming little town… exactly like what you’d picture a quaint European village to be. Dozens of cafés, bakeries, gelato shops and restaurants line the streets, as do small clothing boutiques and stores filled with little trinkets.

We arrived in Taormina after visiting Mt. Etna, just 30 miles away, where we climbed a crater bed and marveled at the view. After a while on Mt. Etna, we were tired, cold and coated in dust and dirt from the crumbly volcanic rock. We loved the hike, but by that point, we were ready to spend some leisure time in Taormina, eating sweets and browsing shops.

The first thing I wanted to do when we arrived was to find a cannoli. A big, fat, crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside cannoli. Maybe dipped in chocolate, maybe not. I stepped into dozens of little pasticceria, and always thought to myself, These look great, but let me check out the next place, just in case!

I don’t know why I thought one particular bakery would be better than another… pretty much everything in every place I stepped into looked so delicious. Mini apple tarts, chocolate puff pastries, pies, biscotti… I wanted to eat everything!

When it comes to food, Sicily is known for frutta martorana, which are traditional marzipan sweets hand crafted in the form of fruits and vegetables. Americans know marzipan as a sweet, thick, moldable almond paste used mostly in candies or rolled out as a type of icing for a cake (like fondant). In Italy, marzipan is slightly less sweet and often molded into different shapes.

You wouldn’t believe how realistic these candies are! The details of the leaf and stem on an apple, the seeds on a strawberry, the rind of a watermelon—they look like the real thing!

Last stop on our walking tour of Taormina: La Bottega del Buongustaio, a fabulous little pasticceria selling everything from wine to pasta to jams. But the real beauties there were the cookies in the display case. Almost all the cookies were variations on paste di mandorle, or almond paste (though this is not to be mistaken for marpizan—they’re different). Some were orange flavored, others were studded whole almonds, and still others were topped with little dried fruits.

I left Taormina not with the cannoli I’d hoped for, but rather with one of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life. Studded with pistachios and sporting a beautiful green hue, this cookie totally captured my attention as I peered into the bakery case at La Bottega del Buongustaio. But it wasn’t until I bit into it that I truly fell in love. Extremely chewy on the inside but with the contrasting crunch of the nuts on the outside, this cookie was an explosion of flavor in my mouth. I can still taste it now… and I hope to someday create this little masterpiece in my own kitchen!

Other stops on our Mediterranean cruise:

Barcelona, Spain
Athens and Santorini, Greece (We went to Greece last year too, and ate so many yummy things!)
Istanbul, Turkey

Tags: Travel

17 responses so far ↓

1 caroline // Aug 20, 2009 at 8:57 am

i don’t think there’s anything more exciting than visiting local pastry shops when you are in a new city. those yummies behind all those cases look so tempting! and that pistachio cookie looks SO good – it seems cakey yet chewy…and i can taste the powdered sugar and crunchy almonds on top! great post.
2 cassie // Aug 21, 2009 at 6:45 am

http://www.northendboston.com/marias/index.html

Try this place in Boston. They hand make the most beautiful and yummy Marzipan. I’ll bet they have your cookies there too. And they will ship them to you.
3 Dana // Aug 21, 2009 at 10:17 am

I haven’t been to Europe since the summer of 2004 and I am jonesing big time to go back. Those photos are an incredible reminder of what I am missing!
4 Jeff // Aug 27, 2009 at 7:13 am

BEAUTIFUL! The only question that I have is how soon can I get there?!?!?!?!?
5 Margaret // Aug 27, 2009 at 6:58 pm

Altho those pastries are absolutely beautiful, that pic over the water is stunning. Enjoy for all of us.
6 Josh // Nov 20, 2009 at 9:32 pm

I was in Sicily over the summer. I went to Taormina as well. It is so beautiful. I have been looking for a recipe that is like the pistachios cookie you have in the pic. I had it too and it was so darn good. Do you have a recipe?
7 Albert // Dec 3, 2009 at 12:05 pm

What is the name of the cookie from La Bottega del Buongustaio in Taormina? The one in the photo made with pistachios. What are the other ingredients. It looks sooooooo good!
8 Guardalabene // Dec 9, 2009 at 9:38 am

I am also dying to get the Pistachio Cookie recipe from La Bottega del Buongustaio! They are so delicious, I still dream of them. Help!
9 Iris // Jan 28, 2010 at 12:24 pm

How can I get the recipe for this pistacchio cookie? I grew in the Italian section of Tampa and they used to sell these in the bakeries. I also had it when I was in Rome but can’t find the recipe. Please…..
10 Danielle // Nov 3, 2010 at 11:34 pm

I had a cookie similar to this when I was in Capri in September….I fell in love. Am in desperate NEED for a recipe…I can’t find it…and can’t find what they would be called even – I believe the bakery I had them at called them “Pistachini’s” ….
11 Lorraine Capone // Nov 10, 2010 at 12:55 pm

I am looking for a cookie made with almond paste filling and a sweet buttery dough on the outside. The store where I buy it calls it Taormina cookies. made only at Christmas time. If you have the recipe I would be grateful.
Thank You,
Lorraine
12 Diane Parrino // Aug 8, 2011 at 11:19 am

I too would love to know how to make the green pistacchio cookies from La Bottega del Buongustaio. Anyone know where I can get the recipe. I visited there in 2006 and will never forget what a paradise Taormina is.
13 Danielle // Aug 12, 2011 at 8:51 am

I’m wondering….you didn’t get a canoli?? Why?? Were there not any there? It’s Sicily! that’s where the canoli was born! We’re going to Taormina in 2 weeks and 2 days! Any more suggestions of places to stop and eat? places to see?
14 Diane Parrino // Aug 22, 2011 at 8:04 pm

Hello Danielle,
When you’re in Taormina one of the most spectacular places there is the Greek Theater which is up on a cliff. You get to it by riding up on a cable car from far below. It only takes about three minutes to get way up there. There are some very nice shops and restaraunts up on the cliff and ALSO the wonderful pastery shop where you can find the world’s finast pasteries. You won’t believe the view from the top of the Greek Theater. Also, be sure to drive up to Mount Etna. You can drive almost to the top, then park your car and take a lift which takes you even further to near the top. It’s breathtaking up there, but bring a very warm jacket when you go because it’s very cold near the top, even if it’s 80 degrees F. down below. Stop on the road on the way up and pick yourself up a few peices of lava to take home with you. Have a wonderful time there. I dream of Taormina all the time.

Diane
15 Sandra // Oct 25, 2011 at 12:54 pm

If you were looking for the most wonderful cannoli you must have missed the Blue Moon Cafe. They are made fresh every morning, beautiful long ones with crispy shells and luscious filling flowing over. They were my breakfast for the week and while I savored them, my friends downed their orancini also made fresh every morning
16 Renee // Nov 26, 2011 at 10:35 am

Do you have a recipe for the Pistachio Cookies from La Bottega Del Buongustaio? I had some, as you did, in Taormina and still lust for them!
Thank you!
17 LucyC. // Dec 10, 2011 at 2:14 am

http://trissalicious.com/2010/11/24/quite-possibly-the-worlds-best-trissalicious-pistachio-cookies/

HappyTummy