Cookies

Name: Italian Biscotti Regina Recipe
Yield: 40
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 2/3 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup olive oil; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water; 1 teaspoon grated orange zest; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 1/2 cups raw sesame seeds; 2 eggwhites from 2 large eggs

Italian Biscotti Regina Recipe

June 3, 2018 by Marisa 12 Comments

An Italian Biscotti Regina Recipe fit for a queen or even a princess. They’re an extremely popular Sicilian cookie with a distinctive sesame seed crust. Made with olive oil, perfumed with both orange blossom water and the zest of an orange. These cookies are not overly sweet and truly irresistible.

Biscotti Regina easily translates to Queen’s cookies and is a classic Sicilian cookie.

There is some speculation that these Biscotti Regina were named after Queen Margherita di Savoia. She was the much beloved queen of Italy and wife to King Umberto I. Another more popular and well known food named after Italy’s favorite queen is pizza Margherita favoring the colors of the Italian Flag. Red, white and green representing tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

Really though, you don’t have to be a queen to enjoy these yummy cookies!

Italian Biscotti Regina Recipe

A very popular Sicilian cookie with a distinctive sesame seed crust. Made with olive oil, scented with both orange blossom water and orange zest. These cookies are truly irresistible.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Biscotti Regina

Servings 40

Author Marisa

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups raw sesame seeds
2 eggwhites from 2 large eggs

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Add in the olive oil and mix with an electric mixer just until a fine sandy texture is achieved.
Mix in the eggs, vanilla extract, orange blossom water, orange zest and honey until well incorporated.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl beat the egg whites with 2 tablespoons of water using a fork and set aside till ready to dip the cookies.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and place on a lightly floured work surface.
Working with one portion of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll into a log of 1 inch wide in diameter and 10 inches long.
Cut the rolled dough into 5 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. It will be approximately the size of a walnut in its shell. Set aside and repeat with the remaining logs.
When all your balls are shaped, use a fork to dip one cookie at a time first into the beaten egg white mixture and then roll in the sesame seeds while turning to coat all over.
Transfer each cookie to the prepared sheet pans. Press down slightly on each cookie and the tuck the edges back up using the palm of your hands to form oval shapes.
I was able to fit 20 cookies on each baking pan. They don't spread much but will puff up.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or till golden brown.
Allow to cool on a wire rack and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.
These cookies keep extremely well in an air tight container for at least a week. I haven't tested them past that one week because they're simply too yummy to have lasted any longer.

Lemon Cornmeal S Cookies

March 30, 2018 by Marisa 25 Comments

These Lemon Cornmeal S cookies are really quite tender with a lovely gritty texture from the addition of yellow corn meal and carry an unmistakable lemon scent. They’re deliciously simple to make and with staple ingredients you most likely already have on hand.

My love for any type of cookie is well documented in previous recipe posts. So much so that I rarely ever have store bought cookies around unless they’re Italian S shaped cookies which I usually buy from Italian specialty shops.

Both my children have fond memories of dipping their hands into their favorite cookie jar brimming with store bought S shaped cookies, but I must say that we adults enjoyed them as much as they if not more!

Recently, my daughter suggested I try making some homemade S cookies from scratch and this had me wondering why I hadn’t thought of it before. I knew at that moment that I needed a homemade version in my life, ASAP!

I aimed for a cookie with texture and knew cornmeal would work wonderfully and lend a pleasant gritty feel. But I also wanted them to be rich in taste and so I played around with egg ratios till my family members gave them a thumbs up.

Aside from being pleasantly gritty in texture they’re also extremely airy and make a lovely alternative to a much sweeter cookie and simply beg to be dipped in a steaming cup of coffee or tea.

In fact these not too sweet cookies are perfect after an overindulgent meal and equally great as an anytime snack

Whisking vs Sifting:

Another area I experimented with was in baking a batch using whisked dry ingredients and another with dry sifted ingredients. I must say there was a remarkable difference in the two methods and both with wonderful results.

In whisking the dry ingredients together I achieved a soft workable dough and I needed a minimal amount of flour on my hands to shape the cookies. They baked to a lovely golden color and retained their S shape. In texture they were both airy and dry but still tender, with similar characteristics of the store bought variety but much tastier in my opinion.

While sifting the dry ingredients in my next batch, this yielded a notable difference. Sifting aerated the dough which necessitated in an extra 1/2 cup of flour to be workable in shaping the S cookies. The other is that the cookies spread out ever so slightly and were much softer, airier and lighter in texture.

Again both equally delicious and something to keep in mind when trying the recipe for yourselves!

While we enjoyed both variations of these adorable Lemon Cornmeal S Cookies, I love them sprinkled with turbinado sugar. My daughter less so! A great compromise would be to bake half the batch of S cookies without the sprinkle of sugar. It’s a win win in my opinion!

In lieu of the Easter holiday, I dipped some in a lemon glaze and topped them with sprinkles. If you plan to do the same, simply omit brushing the cookies with the egg wash and also omit the turbinado sugar.

Hopefully your cookie jar is brimming with your own favorite goodies this long Easter weekend!

Buona Pasqua a tutti…Happy Easter everyone!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Lemon Cornmeal S Cookies

These Lemon Cornmeal S cookies are really quite tender with a lovely gritty texture from the addition of yellow corn meal and carry a subtle lemon scent, enough to perk up your taste buds.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 dozen

Author Marisa

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup yellow corn meal fine grind
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
lemon zest from 2 lemons
2 large eggs plus 4 egg yolks reserve the remaining egg whites for brushing over the cookies before baking
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
turbinado sugar to sprinkle over the cookies optional

Instructions

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you prepare the cookie dough.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt then set aside.
Place the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse together for about 20 seconds to make a quick lemon sugar, then set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat together the 2 whole eggs, 4 egg yolks, and lemon sugar on medium high speed for 5 minutes till thickened.
Mix in the melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract until combined.
Stir in the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
The dough will be soft but manageable to work with.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while you start rolling and shaping the S cookies.
Scoop out a large ball of cookie dough using an ice-cream scoop.
Dust hands with a bit of flour and roll out to form a 12 inch long rope about a 1/2 inch in diameter.
Cut the rope into 3 equal pieces of 4 inches each.
Transfer each piece one at a time to the prepared cookie sheet and bend into an S shape while spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.
Beat the reserved egg whites and brush lightly over the S shaped cookies.
Sprinkle the cookies with the turbinado sugar and bake for about 13 to 15 minutes.
When done the cookies should have a lovely golden color.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Allow to cool and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Recipe Notes

If planning to dip some of the cookies in a lemon glaze, OMIT brushing the S cookies with beaten egg whites and the turbinado sugar, then bake as directed. Once cooled dip them in a lemon glaze to a ratio of 1 cup powdered sugar to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, approximately, depending on how thick you want the lemon glaze. Top with sprinkles of your choice before icing sets.

Italian Bocconotti Cookies

March 2, 2018 by Marisa 26 Comments

These Italian Bocconotti Cookies are seductive little morsels with their scalloped buttery shells and a lovely fig jam cocooned within. All that’s needed is a light dusting of powdered sugar before serving and then simply relax in your comfy chair with a hot cup of tea while nibbling on these dainty treats.

There are so many variations of these cute bocconotti cookies, which easily translates to “small bites” and aptly named I might add for these two bite morsels.

They’re more commonly served during Christmas with a chocolate and nut filling, much like the bocconotti abruzzesi or even the bocconotti calabresi from southern Italy.

However in my opinion when a cookie is as seductive in appearance and taste as these jam filled pastries, well any day of the year is a good day to bake them! As I’m sure you’ll all agree when you try them out for yourselves!

One question that I get asked often when posting a new recipe is, “but is it easy to make”?

My answer is always “yes”! And yes I see some eyes rolling right now so roll them back!

If you’ve never worked with a pastry dough before, you’ll be happy to know that your food processor will be doing most of the work here.

Then there’s a gentle kneading of the dough by hand so that it all comes together in a cohesive ball.

Once the dough has been chilled and your ready to assemble the bocconotti cookies…the fun begins!

With a little background music softly playing and your work station prepped…

Set an hour of your time to shape out and assemble the bocconotti.

Although I used a fig jam you can just as easily replace it with any flavor you prefer and even Nutella would be a wonderful choice!

Once all assembled and ready for the oven, in they go for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown!

You’ll have the most enticing aromas wafting thorough your kitchen and beckoning family members in.

Then a simple light…or generous dusting of powdered sugar to finish them off and enjoy!

Show your family or friends some love this weekend with these easy to make Italian Bocconotti Cookies!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Italian Bocconotti Cookies

These Italian Bocconotti Cookies are seductive little morsels with their scalloped buttery shells and a lovely fig jam cocooned within.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 24

Author Marisa

Ingredients

FOR THE PASTRY
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup chilled butter cubed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Icing sugar powdered sugar for dusting.
24 mini tart tins or mini muffin tins 2 inches in diameter
FOR THE FILLING
3/4 cup fig jam approximately

Instructions

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to combine the ingredients.
Add the chilled cubed butter and pulse the mixture together, just until you achieve coarse crumbs.
Whisk together the egg with the grated orange zest in a small bowl and add this egg mixture to the food processor.
Blend in the food processor until half of the dough mixture has come together then transfer to a work surface and keep kneading gently by hand until the dough has formed a ball.
Wrap the pastry dough in cling wrap and chill for 1 hour.
When ready to assemble the pastries, grease well 24 mini tart molds or use mini muffin pans.
Break off a tablespoon of dough and form into a ball then take the ball of dough and press it into the mini tart mold and up against the edges.
Trim off any excess with your fingers or the dull side of a knife. (I find fingers work best)
Repeat with the remaining molds.
Fill each tartlet with about a teaspoon of jam.
Take another tablespoon of dough, form into a ball and with the palm of your hands press it between two sheets of cling wrap.
Place the flattened disks over the jam filled tartlets and press the dough around the edges of the mini molds to seal and then cut off any excess dough.
The excess dough can be reused to form more tops if needed.
Place the mini tartlets on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a lovely golden brown.
Allow the bocconotti to cool before dusting with icing sugar.
Brew a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

December 1, 2017 by Marisa 36 Comments

This Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe is chock-full of finely ground almonds, flavored with both cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate and partially sweetened with honey. They’re spicy cookies with the aromatic essence of ground cloves and cinnamon. The zest of an orange and lemon with a touch of limoncello lends a lovely citrusy taste to these soft cake-like cookies which are then enveloped in more chocolate goodness.

The origin of this cookie is said to date back 300 hundred years before the birth of Christ and rooted deep in Italian history. Needless to say not all food historians seem to agree on this. However, the consensus is that the mostaccioli cookie has evolved tremendously throughout the years.

In the old country these cookies were made with Mosto or rather Wine Must as a sweetening agent because of its high glucose content, which is basically pressed grapes containing all components of this fruit. It was a time when sugar or even honey were not readily available and people made do with what they had on hand.

They were also made in different shapes and sizes with intricate patterns depicting historical animals or items such as baskets or even the palm. Some, also made with jewel like decorations and sold at auctions in order to raise money for charities.

It wasn’t until centuries later that this clove and cinnamon scented cookie gained in popularity and most families nowadays have their own unique way of making them. From sculpted cookies to biscotti like shapes to the more popular diamond shaped one that you see here today.

And while some contain no leavening agent yielding a harder cookie, much like my Zia would make, these are soft and almost cake like.

It bears mentioning that your working with a very soft dough so flour your work surface, rolling pin and hands when shaping and cutting the cookies.

I used a 2 inch diamond shaped cookie cutter to form them but you can just as easily cut them into diamond shapes using a knife.

I chose to dip half the batch of cookies in semi-sweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate as this makes a lovely presentation when platted together on a large platter. Do keep in mind though to allow sufficient time for the chocolate to set before platting…trust me on this!

As I was taking photos of the cookies I noticed how quickly I was losing natural light, hence a few smudges. However, they were delicious smudges I assure you!

This Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe is sure to bring a nostalgic feel to your family gathering! If you want to give them a go, do tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

A traditional Italian cookie with ground almonds, sweetened with honey, scented with both orange and lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon and dipped in chocolate.

Course Cookie

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 1/2 dozen

Author Marisa

Ingredients

COOKIE DOUGH
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups almonds very finely ground
1/3 cup baking cocoa powder I used dutch processed
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup honey
orange zest from 1 large orange
lemon zest from 1 medium sized lemon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Limoncello or substitute with the juice of one lemon
3 ounces coarsely grated semi-sweet or bitter sweet chocolate
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
12 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
12 ounces white chocolate
vegetable oil for thinning the chocolate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, baking powder and salt then set aside.
Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the eggs together.
Mix in the sugar and honey, beating until very well combined.
Stir in the orange and lemon zest, the vanilla extract and limoncello.
Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined.
Stir in the grated chocolate.
The dough will be very soft and pliable.
Working with small portions of the dough at a time (about 1 heaping cupful) transfer to a well floured surface.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/3 of an inch thick.
Use a 2 inch diamond cookie cutter to shape and cut out the cookies and then transfer to the prepared baking sheet while spacing them about 1 inch apart. (dipping the cookie cutter in flour before each use will tremendously help for easy release.)
Re-rolled the scraps to shape and cut just 1 more time.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies should still be slightly soft to the touch when ready.
While one batch is baking in the oven continue rolling and cutting with the remaining dough.
Make sure the cookies cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
CHOCOLATE COATING:
Melt the semi-sweet chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl on high for about 90 seconds stirring at 30 seconds interval.
Thin the chocolate with a little bit of vegetable oil to loosen the consistency somewhat for easy dipping.
Dip half a batch of the cookies into the melted semi-sweet chocolate and place on a cooling rack till the chocolate sets.
Repeat by melting the white chocolate and coating the remaining cookies.
Before the white chocolate sets, use a piping bag filled with dark melted chocolate to dot the tops then simply run a toothpick through the dots to create a pretty pattern.
Allow for the chocolate to set completely before storing.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

November 13, 2017 by Marisa 28 Comments

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies made with a quick lemon infused sugar for a delightful all around citrus scent which are dipped into a lemony glaze and then finally dressed up in gold nonpareils ready to grace any holiday cookie platter with some merry cheer!

While some people are dreaming of a white Christmas or even getting an early start to a flurry of holiday shopping, I’m living and breathing cookies in all shapes and forms. Shopping is pushed to the sidelines in anticipation of the glorious sweet treats begging to come to light.

What better way to ease into holiday baking then with these adorable Lemon Ricotta Cookies! They’re extremely popular in Italian households especially around the holidays with each family having their own unique way of decorating these citrusy morsels.

These ricotta cookies are extremely soft to the bite and have a very cake like texture which are sure to appeal to all you die hard cookie fans!

These Lemon Ricotta Cookies are inspired by Canadian Living Magazine’s ricotta cookies in their latest holiday issue. I made a few switch ups which will appeal to all lemon lovers.

To achieve an all around citrus taste in the cookie dough, I added lemon zest and made a quick lemon sugar by pulsing together the lemon zest with the granulated sugar in my mini food processor. Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor simply beat the butter, sugar and zest all together.

I omitted the baking soda altogether and increased the baking powder from 1/4 teaspoon to a full teaspoon as this yielded a plumper cookie which did not spread out overly much. They resembled these perfect little round soft and fluffy pillows.

Also for uniformly round cookies I used a 1 1/2 inch round cookie scoop but you can just as easily measure the dough out with a rounded tablespoon.

I opted out of the cream cheese icing and decided to make a luscious lemon glaze.

“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand” Barbara Johnson

You can also customize the thickness of the lemon glaze to your taste. Adding less lemon juice to the icing sugar will result in a thicker glaze. Or, if you prefer a thinner glaze try adding a little more lemon juice.

Do keep in mind though that these cookies absorb quite a bit of the glaze, especially a day after. So if you want that white glaze appearance make sure the icing is not overly thin.

I had full intentions to test out whether these ricotta cookies would freeze well and therefor make a great bake ahead dessert. However, they lasted 1 full day in my freezer because greedy hands quickly devoured the cookies! They’re that delicious!

But don’t take my word for it! Bake them yourselves and tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

These classic Italian Ricotta Cookies are extremely soft and cake-like in texture, are dipped in a lemon glaze and topped with golden non-pareils.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 3 dozen

Author Marisa

Ingredients

COOKIES
1 cup granulated sugar
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 large egg
8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt I used fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
sprinkles or nonpareils for decorating
LEMON GLAZE
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
zest from 1 lemon
4 to 5 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 3 cookies sheets with parchment paper as this will make for easy release of the cookies and set aside.
Pulse the granulated sugar with the lemon zest in a food processor for about 1 minute so as to infuse the sugar with the lemon scent.
Place the lemon sugar and the softened butter in a large bowl and beat until fluffy.
Beat in the egg, ricotta cheese and the vanilla until well combined.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and stir this into the ricotta mixture.
Using a small cookie scoop of about 1 1/2 inch in size, scoop out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart so that they have room to expand. Or simply measure out a heaping tablespoon if you don't have a cookie scoop.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 to 14 minutes or until the bottoms are golden in color.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and in the meantime prepare the lemon glaze.
FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
Place the icing sugar and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl and whisk in the lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, until a desired consistency is achieved.
Dunk the top of the ricotta cookies into the lemon glaze and place on a wire rack with a tray underneath to catch any drippings.
Sprinkle with nonpareils of your choice and then allow the lemon glaze to set before serving.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by Canadian living Magazine and tweaked with a few switch ups for personal taste.

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