The Roman cookies St. Francis loved and wanted before dying

St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love for all creation, inspiring believers across centuries with his devotion to humans, animals, and plants. Turns out the beloved saint was also a lover of cookies. In fact, he liked a type of grape-based cookie so much that he had asked for it shortly before his death in Assisi in 1226.

According to a tradition, St. Francis crossed paths with what would become his treat of choice when he arrived in Rome to seek papal authorization for his newfound movement. There, he met a local widow, Jacopa de’ Settesoli, who soon became one of the most important supporters of the nascent Franciscan movement in the Eternal city. In 1209, Pope Innocent III granted St. Francis his approval and the Franciscan movement started to develop more formally. 

Settesoli helped Francis find a suitable place to set up the headquarters of the Franciscan movement in Rome. A noblewoman who inherited property from her late husband, she used her connections to facilitate the transfer of a building in Trastevere that belonged to the Order of the Benedictines of St. Cosimatus. Following Francis’ death the building would become the Convent of St. Francis in Ripa with an annexed church that can still be visited today. 

Jacopa was so active in her support of the Franciscans that St. Francis reportedly nicknamed her “frate Jacopa,” or “brother Jacopa,” in reference to her daily efforts to help Franciscan friars. Indeed, she is buried just a few feet away from the saint's tomb in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.

But Jacopa was not only a vital ally for the Franciscan movement. She is also the woman who introduced Francis to “mostaccioli,” a type of grape-based biscotti with roots in ancient Rome. 

Typically made during grape harvest season, these cookies were made with bread dough, anise seeds, sugar, almonds and grape must, to which they owe their name, “mostaccioli,” from Italian word for must (mosto). Grape must is grape juice before or during fermentation.

Jacopa reportedly served these must-colored cookies to Francis when he paid her a home visit, and he noted how “good and fragrant” they were. A type of must-based cookies known as “mortarioli” was popular in Rome in ancient times, made with sugar, almonds and must crushed in a mortar, hence the name. What Jacopa served to Francis was an evolution of these ancient biscuits.

It is said that St. Francis loved “mostaccioli” so much that when he fell ill in Assisi in September 1226 he sent a letter to Jacopa asking her to pay him a visit to support him during his illness and to bring along her delicious mostaccioli. According to tradition, the widow never received the letter but nevertheless showed up in Assisi, with the beloved cookies, shortly before the saint’s passing.

Today, mostaccioli are still a popular cookie in Italy, sold in convents across the country or baked at home. They are especially popular in Naples, where they are served during Christmas. 

To make mostaccioli, follow this recipe from the pastoral community of St. Paul VI in northern Italy. Or buy them from the Monastery of St. Clare in the southern Italian region of Basilicata!

You can either dust them with powdered sugar once baked, or brush them with 1 egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar before putting them in the oven.

Finely chop the almonds and walnuts and place them in a bowl. Add the honey, eggs, grape must, oil, cinnamon, and pepper. Mix everything together. Then add the flour and baking powder and knead with your hands. Lightly flour a work surface, turn out the dough, and, if necessary, add a little more flour (beyond the amount listed in the ingredients).

When the dough has the right consistency, roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5 mm, then cut the cookies into diamond shapes about 4 cm wide. If you wish, brush them with egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet (first lined with parchment paper) and bake for about 15–20 minutes at 175–180 °C. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.