After 6 years in Todi, these spicy cookies have gotten quite a buzz about them. Every year for x-mas - we do the cookie round to all our suppliers, friends and restaurants to say thank you for the year, and what better way to say thank you, than a big bag of homemade cookies. These always find their way into the bag - also use this dough for ginger bread people or houses.
A good fiiled cookie jar:
450 g all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp powdered ginger
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg
85 g soft butter
100 g dark sugar
1 egg
125 ml dark syrup
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
zest of 1 orange, finely grated
In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients and set a side.
In a second bowl whisk butter and sugar together using a handheld mixer for a couple of minutes, add egg and whisk again for a few more minutes, pour in syrup and add the 2 types of zest and give the mixture another couple of minutes of whisking.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture a little at the time. Stir until you have a smooth dough. Divide into 2 and wrap each in cling film. Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours - longer is even better. The dough can last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Preheat your oven to 180c degrees.
Remove a portion of dough from the refrigerator. Working with a little at the time - roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface, about 2-3 mm in thickness. Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and reroll the dough and cut out again. Place cookies and baking sheets with baking paper.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.
When our local Gelateria - Pianigiani - starts filling their windows with homemade Panpepato - well then we know christmas is just around the corner. This traditional bake goes all the way back to medieval times - when it was used to celebrate the festive seasons. Typical to Umbria and Lazio, panpepato is closely related to Tuscany's panforte - just more seasoned - and as the name says - with lots of black pepper. Traditionally they are baked in small round loafs - we like to bake them into logs, making it easier to them in thin slices. Great with a strong coffee after a festive meal.
3-4 small loafs or logs
50 g raisins
3 tbsp vin santo or Marsala
80 g almonds, toated and roughly chopped
100 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
100 g walnuts, roughly chopped
80 g cocoa powder
100 g candied orange peel, finely diced
1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg
1-2 tsp black pepper, finely milled
180 g liquid honey
30 g all-purpose flour
Place raisins in a small bowl, cover with vin santo and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 160c degrees.
Add all ingredients in a medium bowl including raisins and vin santo and mix well. It should be quite firm.
Moist our hands with a bit of water and divide the dough into 3-4 pieces and shape these into loafs or logs. Place on baking sheets with baking paper. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container and serve in thin slices.
These tasty S-shaped cookies were originally only baked for easter, but these days you can enjoy them all year around in bella Venezia - the perfect little cookie to dip in the morning coffee or even better in a glass of passito or Vin Santo. Today we have seasoned the cookies very traditionally - with vanilla and lemon - but feel free to experiment with spices - we have also used orange and lavender with great success. There isn't an official explanation on the S-shape. Some says it dates back to the nick name of Venezia - La Serenissima - others say it is after the shape of the Gran Canale.
20-25 cookies
130 g soft butter
120 g caster sugar
seeds from 1/2 a vanilla pod
250 g 00-flour
2 egg yolks
zest from 1 lemon, finely grated
pinch of fine sea salt
2 tbsp milk
Place butter, sugar and vanilla seeds in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add flour, egg yolks, lemon zest and salt and process for half a minute, until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Pour in the milk and mix again.
Pour the dough out onto a flour dusted work surface, and pat together the dough, using your hands - don't overwork the dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 170 c degrees.
Cut of smaller pieces of the dough and roll out into a sausage shape, about 12 cm long and 2 cm wide. Bent into a S-shape and place on a baking sheet with baking paper.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or unti lightly golden.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.