Mrs. Bernadette Johnson, whose family originally came from San Fratello in the province of Messina, sent this recipe to make these delicious breakfast cookie/cake her aunts Benedetta and Mariannina Calcaterra called them in their dialect Viscotta Furrincotti or Furrincozza and in the region Savoiardi. 

These biscuits are round and whitish tan in color, slightly harder than sponge cookies and they rise to a small mound in the center: they are delightful companions to a cup of hot chocolate or coffee. These cookies are very much tied with the history of San Fratello, as far as the name Furrincotti could derive from the Gallic four, pronounced fur, meaning oven and cottu meaning cooked and Furrincozzi meaning baked in the shape of cozzi, the abundant mussels available in the nearby shores.

The people of San Fratello are called Francisi, French, because they speak Occitan, a dialect spoken in some Portuguese provinces, in the French region of La Provence and in Italy in Piedmont and Liguria regions. The town is called San Fratello, to honor the Brothers, Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfio, three Saints that are the Patrons of the village. In fact from May 7th to May 10th various rituals are carried out, including a flowers parade, a horse show with the breed of Sanfratellano horses, and in the old Norman Sanctuary, not far from the main square, religious celebrations are dedicated to the three Saints. 

San Fratello was founded in the XI century by Adelaide del Vasto, who introduced in the area the Provencal-Italic dialect spoken by her entourage, and the Anglo-Norman horses that evolved into a new breed called Sanfratellano. The local handmade Sanfratellano knives are characterized by the handles made from cattle’s horns.

In 1713, Victor Amadeus of Savoy was crowned king of Sicily and Naples, and when in 1754, the town of San Fratello was destroyed by a landslide, the administration sent Savoyards representatives and resources to help in the reconstruction of the town. Among other novelty, they introduced an incredible delicious cookie made from few and simple ingredients called savoiardo: from San Fratello the recipe for these biscuits spread with same variations, all over Sicily. Alfio Pacino, the grandfather of Al Pacino, was born in San Fratello. The aunts of Mrs. Bernadette Johnson, the Calcaterra from Sanfratello, made these biscuits using this easy recipe to bake these round biscuits, liked for breakfast and well enjoyed with a glass of Marsala wine