By Daniele Foti-Cuzzola
These simple yet moreish biscuits are a staple at Easter time in Italy and are often given as gifts to young children. Italian families often prepare these biscuits during Holy Week and enjoy them with their loved ones on Easter Sunday. There are many variations of the recipe and in some regions, a bread dough is used as opposed to a biscuit recipe. The hardboiled egg is symbolic of Christ’s resurrection and represents new life. In some parts of Italy, red dye is often used to colour the egg, as red is perceived as a symbol of overcoming evil and is symbolic of Christ’s blood. However today, the eggs are often dyed in various colours or left natural.
Ingredients
Makes six biscuits
- 6 eggs to be hardboiled (either left plain or coloured with dye)
- 3 cups Plain Flour
- 1 cup Self Raising Flour
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups oil
- 1 tablespoon of lard
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Prepare six hardboiled eggs and colour them if you wish and set them aside. Place all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat together until well combined. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead onto a lightly floured surface until smooth. Take golf ball size portions of the dough and roll out into a log shape. Carefully braid two logs together to form a circle, making it wide enough to leave room to place the hardboiled egg in the middle. Gently place the egg in the centre and bake the biscuits in the oven for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
From page 28 from Issue 7: ‘Dominic Perissinotto: Growing in faith, with music’ of The Record Magazine