Photo Credit Emanuele Siracusa
What are these traditional cookies?
Panareddi, pupo con l'uovo or "Cuddura" is a typical cookie made during Easter time in Sicilia. They are sort of shortcrust pastry biscuits covered with sugar icing, colored sprinkles, cocoa powder (in much more modern traditions) and a hard-boiled egg positioned in the center, covered entirely or only in part by the dough.
I grew up making, eating and receiving these as a gift by my grandmothers. There was no Easter without holding one of these in my hands. So I have decided to re-create my grandmothers recipe using better quality ingredients, hence less refined and more nutritious in the modern world.
You can made different shapes, but the most traditional ones are the dove, then there is the handbag shape (Panareddu), the bell, the heart etc. For example, I made a completely new one which looks like a nest. The characteristic of this cookie is the hard-boiled egg that is placed in the middle, which simbolise life - new born, and recently I realised that these cookies are not just a Sicilian tradition, but in Portugal have similar desserts made by brioche instead of a short-pastry biscuit.
PREPARATION
Before starting to prepare this cookie - Panareddi, prepare the shapes you want to make. I personally chose the canister (basket) as it’s a very traditional shape made in my area - Agrigento, together with a much more modern and easier shape which I came up with during Easter 2020 during Covid. You can also draw a dove or anything you would like to create with baking paper and then apply it to the dough.
TIME: Prep 15 mins / Resting 30 mins / Cooking 15mins
Before starting to prepare this cookie - u pupu cu l'ova, prepare the shapes you want to make. I personally chose the canister (basket) as it’s a very traditional shape made in my area - Agrigento, together with a much more modern and easier shape which I came up with during Easter 2020 during Covid. You can also draw a dove or anything you would like to create with baking paper and then apply it to the dough.
NOTE: all the ingredients need to be at room temperature!
List of Ingredients:
500 gr of Soft Flour (I used type 0)
100 gr of Coconut Sugar
2 medium Organic free-range Eggs (approx 58 gr each)
125 gr full fat Butter (best quality)
5 gr of baking Yeast
A pinch of the extract of 1 Vanilla pod
4 tbsp of goat Milk
1 Lemon zest, organic
To deco:
1 Egg yolk
4 / 5 boiled Eggs
Colored sprinkles (Or anything you wish to decorate them with!)
METHOD:
Take a medium bowl and add the flour, sugar and the butter. With your hands start to mix all the 3 ingredients together until the butter has completely softened into the mixture.
Take a cup and pour in the milk. Dissolve the yeast in the liquid and gently stir it with a spoon.
Place the flour in a heap on a wooden board (or kitchen surface), break the eggs in the centre and beat them with a fork until they are incorporated into the dough. Pour in the milk, vanille extract and knead until the dough has come all together. NOTE: If the dough is too hard, dampen your hands with a bit of extra milk or water.
Once the dough has been well mixed, add it into a clean bowl and cover it with a lid to keep moist. Put the dough at rest in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.
In the meantime, bring to boil the eggs in a small pot with some unsalted water. Eggs need to be hard-boiled (please remember that they will be ready after 7 minutes water has started to boil). As soon as they are cooked, put them in cold water for about 10 minutes and set aside.
Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into 4 or 5 parts depending on what you have decided to create (I made 5 different cookie shapes and with the remaining I just turned the dough into small normal cookies). Transfer the dough into a floured surface and with the help of a rolling pin, roll them out to a thickness of about 1/2 cm. With a special mold - or by drawing any shape you want, a basket, hearts, doves, dolls etc. then cut the dough with the help of the tip of a knife.
Place the boiled egg in the cookies’ centre and cut out strips of dough per cookie with the help of a pasta cutter or knife. This will stop the hard-boiled egg from moving.
Brush your creations with your egg yolk and decorate them with colored sprinkles.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the Panareddi, or your chosen shapes, on top.
Bake at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Don’t Forget To Share, Like And Comment It And Mainly Make Your Own. I Can’t Wait To See Your Delicious Creations!
Credit Emanuele Siracusa
Credit Emanuele Siracusa