Taralli Dolci di Pasqua are large cookies made for Easter in southern Italy. They are thick and sturdy and fragrant with citrus and vanilla. The cookies themselves are not at all too sweet–most of the sweet comes from the icing. Keep reading to see what other traditional spring cookies the Creative Cookie Exchange has for you this month! Affiliate links have been used in this post to link to items I am discussing.
The theme of traditional cookies for spring holidays was my idea–and yet when I sat down to choose a cookie I realized that all of the traditional spring baked goods I was familiar with were yeasted cakes, like babka. So this one took a little digging. But having been to Italy, well, there is a country that loves their cookies. I knew there had to be one somewhere.
So I set to digging. I used Eat Your Books and eventually came across a recipe for Easter cookies from southern Italy in Nick Malgeri’s Cookies Unlimited
You may notice these Taralli Dolci di Pasqua are huge. Nick Malgieri makes clear that is the traditional size, so that is what I went with. But you can, of course, make them smaller. Amusingly, Alex has taken to calling them “dookies,” cookies that look like donuts. The kids both really liked these, as did John. If you harbor a fondness for basic vanilla cookies, iced or with sprinkles, you will love these. I liked them, but did not love them, but I do not think I did anything wrong, I think it is just the kind of cookie that they are. Given a choice, I will not usually choose the iced or sprinkled (or both!) cookie.
One of the fun things about these cookies is that they are easily made by hand. They are similar in a weird way to making scones–when you fold the wet and dry together it will be a little crumbly and INcohesive, but after a few quick kneads on a clean counter, the dough comes together beautifully and is really easy to work with.
- 5½ cups (693 g) AP flour
- 1½ T baking powder
- ½ t fine sea salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup (12 T, 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 T vanilla
- ½ t fiori di sicilia extract
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 T lemon juice
- 1 t vanilla
- a few drops fiori di sicilia extract
- 2-3 T water to thin the icing out
- sprinkles of choice
-
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare 4 baking sheets (or prepare 2 at a time) by lining with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
-
Whisk together the four, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
-
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until broken up and completely incorporated (i.e., no separate yellows or whites). While whisking, pour the sugar into the eggs in a thin stream.
-
Pour the butter into the eggs, while whisking, in a thin stream.
-
Whisk in the vanilla and fiori di sicilia.
-
Gently fold the flour mix into the egg mixture. When it is mostly cohesive but still a little crumbly, turn it out onto a clean surface (lightly flour the surface unless you are using a silicone mat, in which case it will not need it).
-
Briefly knead the dough to make it a cohesive ball.
-
Divide the dough into 8 equal sized portions. Then divide each portion in half.
-
With each portion (1/16 of the dough), roll it into an even rope 8 inches long. Then pinch the ends together to form a circle.
-
Bake 4-6 circles of dough on a sheet at a time. If you bake 2 at once, be sure to rotate top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking (unless you are using a convection oven). Bake for 26-30 minutes, or until quite puffed and a deep golden brown.
-
Remove to cool on the cookie sheet. If you need the cookie sheet for another round of baking, let cool for 5-7 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.
-
Do not ice the cookies until they are completely cooled.
-
Whisk the lemon juice, vanilla and fiori di sicilia into the powdered sugar. Then add enough water, by the tablespoon, until you get a smooth and drippy yet thick icing.
-
Dip the top half of each cookie into the icing. Let some of the excess drip off back into the bowl. Then scatter sprinkles over the icing and let set completely.
We all associate cookies with “The” holidays in December, but spring holidays are a great time for cookies also! Whether you are celebrating Easter, Passover, or something else, we’ve found some great traditional cookies from around the world for you!
You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:
Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:
- Chocolate Candy Coconut Cookies from Magnolia Days
- Easter Egg Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Egyptian Date Crescents from Food Lust People Love
- Lemon Hamantaschen from Spiceroots
- Lemon Meltaway Cookies from A Baker’s House
- Ma’amoul – Date Stuffed Cookies from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Malt M&M’s Easter Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Maltese Figolli Cookies from Upstate Rambling
- Peach and Pistachio Frangiapane Hamantaschen from Live Bake Love
- Persian Chickpea Cookies (Nan e Nokhodchi) from Flours and Frostings
- Taralli Dolci di Pasqua (Southern Italian Easter Cookies) from The Spiced Life
- Zesty Citrus Bar Cookies from 2 Cookin’ Mamas
Looking for a fun collage for Pinterest? The file size was too big for good load speed, but you can click here to find one already on Pinterest!
I would love to be enjoying some of your cookies right now with my cup of tea. I love vanilla cookies, and I’m pretty sure I have a bottle of the fiori di sicilia extract somewhere in my pantry, so I can’t wait to try these. Also, love how you decorated them and the photos are beautiful.
Great cookies Laura! And now I have another flavoring to discover – fiori di sicilia extract.
How lovely are these!!! I love your description and the sweet sprinkle decorations 🙂 The fact that they look like mini donuts does not hurt.<3
I must find this special fiori di sicilia extract– it sounds even better than vanilla extract with the extra twist of orange.
These cookies look so bright and festive! I have never heard of Fiori di Sicilia extract, but it sounds amazing!
“dookies” – ! I think that might catch on… And although I too generally prefer the un-iced and un-sprinkled cookies , these look delicious! And thank you for the theme !
How adorable are these! My grandkids love anything with sprinkles. I’m sure the Italian cookie police won’t find you and arrest you for adding the flavoring!
They look like donut cookies! Love the festive sprinkles on top
Yummy little cookies and so pretty too – love all the wonderful choices!
Oh my goodness this look so fluffy and tender, a friend of mine was used to bake this and are delicious. As always you have great recipe ideas =)
These look so good! Especially with those cute sprinkles!
These look so yummy and festive, how fun!
These are definitely some creative cookies, how fun and festive for Easter!
These look pretty, and I am sure they taste amazing!
My kids would love it if I made cookies that big! I love the holiday feel the sprinkles gave them.
These cookies are beautiful! I lived in San Francisco’s north beach neighborhood and have an obsession for Italian cookies and pastries. Your cookies remind me of my childhood and I really want to make these right now. How big are the cookies? They look like they are donut sized…
They are indeed donut sized–which is crazy I know. But apparently traditional lol…
Beautiful little “dookies”! I have to agree with Alex as I thought they looked like donuts too. 🙂 They sound delicious and I am definitely going to hunt up some Fiori di Sicilia extract as it sounds like it will make all my cookies that much more vanilla-y.
These remind me a bit of round biscotti, they look fab!
These taralli look beautiful and I would love to make them for Easter next week. Is there a good substitute for the Fiori di Sicilia you could recommend? I’m having a hard time finding it here in Canada.
Oh man… well first I would say try mail order, like King Arthur. Seriously, it is worth it. It is such a unique and delicious ingredient. But… worst case, try a combination of vanilla, lemon and orange (preferably oils, but extracts could work in a pinch).
Thank you so much, Laura! I actually called King Arthur but unfortunately they don’t ship that product to Canada. I will definitely try your suggestion of combining the vanilla and citrus oils.
You will probably think I am crazy but I did find one store that would ship to Canada. I think I am taking it personally that it should be so hard to find when it is one of the most delightful things EVER. So for future reference, I found this and good luck. No matter what it will be tasty. https://amoretti.com/products/fiori-di-sicilia-syrup
Not crazy at all, I really appreciate you looking into this further, thank you! I will give the Amoretti Fiori di Sicilia syrup a try.
Ciao cosa e fiore di sicilia
Hi: I don’t speak Italian but if I translated that right–or if Google did–maybe this helps: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/fiori-di-sicilia