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1
Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Add the eggs and, if using, the anise liqueur and orange zest. Work to a firm, cohesive dough — no butter or fat is added at any point. Fold in the whole skin-on almonds, distributing them evenly without breaking them. The dough is ready when it holds together cleanly and the almonds sit proud within it.
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2
Divide the dough and form into logs approximately 4 cm wide. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes. The logs are done when the surface is lightly golden and the dough is set to the touch — not raw at the centre, but not baked through.
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3
Remove the logs from the oven and slice immediately while still hot, at 1.5 cm thickness on a 45° diagonal. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the logs are left to cool before slicing, the moist interior causes the slices to crumble and tear; only the heat of the just-baked dough allows a clean cut through the whole almonds.
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4
Lay the slices cut-side up on the baking sheet and return to the oven at 160 °C for 15 minutes. The cantucci are done when they are completely dry to the touch and resist any give when pressed — they must be rock-hard on cooling. Any residual softness means the second bake is insufficient and the biscuits will turn sticky within a day.