Kwareżimini

A twist on the traditional Maltese lent sweets Kwareżimal, the Kwareżimini are the perfect bite size biscuits to indulge in!

These Kwareżimini come from the love I have for Kwareżimal. Each year, once lent approaches, I get eager to start making and eating Kwareżimal. This year to change things up a bit I decided to give them a twist and create something new. So, I created this hybrid: part Kwareżimal, part thumbprint cookies. A base of kwareżimal biscuit is shaped with a hollow centre, which is then filled with a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread and topped with chopped almonds and zest flakes. The Kwareżimini are also bite sized! Hence, the play on the name. 

Layer by Layer

The base of the Kwareżimini is basically a Kwareżimal biscuit. However, for these ones I opted to not put the candied peel from my usual recipe, although you can easily put it in. I shaped the chewy crunchy base into a small oblong of around 4cm. Then I pressed down the middle with my thumb to create a hollow centre. After baking and letting them rest, I filled the Kwareżimini with a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. Of course, you can also use a store bought spread. I topped everything with crushed almonds and zest from an orange and a lemon. I have actually roasted the nuts and zest together on low heat in a small pan for a minute until fragrant.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Store bought is always easy, however making your own is more satisfying and it actually tastes better! It all starts by roasting the hazelnuts for a few minutes. Apart from enriching their taste, roasting helps to remove their skin so that the spread isn’t that bitter. Once roasted, take the hazelnuts and place between a clean cloth and let them sit for a few minutes. Rub them vigorously and the skin should peel off on its own. Most of the skin should rub off, however, it’s fine if some is still left attached. Remove the hazelnuts from their skins while still warm, and place them in a food processor. 

Ideally, you use a strong and good food processor as crushing the nuts to a butter takes a bit of time. Here the nuts will be first crushed, then turned into a paste, and finally end up as nut butter. Usually this takes about 10 minutes, but as mentioned before, this depends mainly on the strength of your food processor. Here you can decide the consistency you want, you can either stop it earlier and have some gritty pieces or else blend it completely smooth. Be patient, don’t get discouraged when you see the crushed nuts, they will change into a butter without adding anything to it. You just need time and patience. 

Then the salt, vanilla and sugar are added once the butter is made. The salt enhances the flavour of the butter and the vanilla adds a sweet aroma. The sugar apart from adding that extra sweetness we all love in spreads, helps with the texture of the spread. The more you put in it, the more the spread might harden. 

What is a spread without chocolate? The last stage to make this spread, is to add melted chocolate to it. For this one, I have added melted milk chocolate. I wanted to be on the sweeter side to not overpower the Kwareżimal base. However, you can use dark chocolate and even white chocolate to make this spread. 

Storing 

Store the Kwareżimini in an airtight container in a cool dry place for about a week. For the chocolate hazelnut spread store in a glass jar or airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks. You can also store it in the fridge, however, this will harden it, so before using it you need to leave it at room temperature for some time. 

Kwareżimini

5 from 1 vote

A twist on the traditional Maltese lent sweets Kwareżimal, the Kwareżimini are the perfect bite size biscuits to indulge in!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:1 hour hr

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: European, Maltese, Mediterranean

Keyword: Lent, Nuts, Spread

Servings: 26

Ingredients

Kwareżimal Base

• 200 g plain flour
• 200 g ground almonds
• 50 g sugar
• 15 ml olive oil
• 15 ml orange flower water
• 10 g cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• zest of half a lemon
• zest of half an orange
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 60 ml water

Toppings

• 25 g almonds chopped
• zest of half a lemon
• zest of half an orange

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

• 250 g hazelnuts
• 100 g dark or milk chocolate melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 25 g sugar

Instructions

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

• Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Roast the hazelnuts for about 10/15 minutes until golden brown.
• Place the roasted hazelnuts in between a clean cloth towel. Let sit for a few minutes so that they steam and their skin loosens.
• Rub them vigorously and the skin should peel off on its own. Most of the skins should rub off. Remove the hazelnuts from their skins and place them in a food processor.
• Blend the hazelnuts on medium speed until they change from crumbles to a nut butter. This might take about 10 minutes, depending on the strength of your food processor.
• In the meantime, melt the chocolate in the microwave or on a double boiler.
• When the nuts are blending put in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Once blended, add the melted chocolate. Blend until everything is combined.
• Transfer the spread into an airtight container. Store at room temperature.

Kwareżimal Base

• Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and sprinkle some flour on top. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl sift the flour and combine with the olive oil and the orange flower water. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the water.
• Start adding the water slowly as the dough might need less than mentioned. Knead into a sticky dough, which is the consistency we are looking for.
• Slightly flour your hands and start shaping the dough into an oblong of about 4cm. You should get about 26 small pieces. Place on a baking tray, and leave some space between them. Press gently the middle of each piece to create a hollow centre.
• Bake for 15 minutes exactly. It's important to not overcook the biscuit.
• If during the cooking stage the biscuit rises and the centre isn't that deep, with a spoon, while still warm, gently press down the middle so that there is space for the spread.

Assembly

• Lightly roast the chopped almonds with the orange zest and lemon zest in a pan for about a minute. Set aside.
• Once the kwareżimal biscuits are cooled, in the hollow centre pipe some of the chocolate hazelnut spread. On top, sprinkle some of the chopped almonds and orange zest.

If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the mailing list down below so to receive the recipe updates straight to your mailbox!