There are many versions of these Easter cookies in Italy. Known as "Taralli di Pasqua", this version is very simple and adaptable. Some taralli are boiled first, then baked and further glazed with a sugar icing made with egg whites, while delicious, they are a bit labor-intensive. This version is by far the easiest. You can add lemon or orange zest instead of vanilla (add 1 tablespoon of milk if not using the vanilla) or anise or almond extract. You can add sprinkles, if wish as well. But I much prefer the humble version of vanilla and no sprinkles as it's very unpretentious and pure for such a wonderful holiday.

Ingredients
2 ¾ cups flour, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp high-quality vanilla extract (do not use imitation)

2 (approx.) cups powdered sugar
2 (approx.) tbsp. milk
2 (approx.) tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350
2) In a medium bowl, or over some wax paper, sift your flour and baking powder
3) In a large bowl whisk the eggs with sugar then add the cooled melted butter and vanilla.
4) Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the dough comes together and forms a nice cookie consistency. Knead with your hands towards the end.
5) Pull about 2 tablespoons of dough and form a 12 inch log by rolling dough on your counter. Cut log in three and form circles, pinching the ends to. Continue with the rest of the dough, you will end with about 28 cookies.
6) Bake for 20 – 21 minutes
7) While the cookies bake, prepare your icing by mixing all of your ingredients. Adjusting the amounts as needed until your icing is the right consistency
8) Allow cookies to cool completely before dipping them in the icing
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In the summer of 1997, I was in between jobs and decided to spend the summer in Italy. My aunt Ida made a delicious jam tart, or as it's called in Italian, "crostata" and I just had to master it myself. I was young and just learning my ways in the kitchen and I must say that this is one recipe that I am very proud for having mastered. Every time I make it, it always brings me back to that wonderful summer of 1997. As you can see, once you make the crust a few times and have mastered the process, you can make numerous variations. I plan on making it with ricotta and pastry cream for the upcoming Easter holiday. I will be sure to post a recipe of that one, as it is unbelievably delicious! It's also sinfully delicious made with Nutella. That and orange zest makes for a great combination. 

Spread the crostata dough even on a 12-inch tart. Here, you can see that beautiful orange zest!

Using a fork, prick the dough numerous times. This will  prevent air bubbles from forming while baking.

Look at how beautiful it's starting to look! Spread jam of your choice over it. Here, I've got Stonewall Kitchen's Blueberry Jam. It's one of the best ones I have found and is so delicious! The tart cherry one isn't bad either. ;-) 

Here, we're creating the topping. I've tried the over and under proper lattice topping. I've yet to master it and frankly, whose got time for that! This looks just as beautiful, if you ask me!

Looks good enough to eat! 


​Jam Crostata 
Ingredients
11 Tablespoons Butter, at Room Temperature for Several Hours
2/3 Cups Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
2 ½ Cups Flour
Zest of 1 Orange or 1 Lemon
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Dash of salt
1-2 Tablespoons Milk 
1 13 - 15 Oz Jar of High Quality Jam (do not use jelly)
 
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. With a stand or hand-held mixer, mix soft butter with sugar and add egg and egg yolk and mix well.
3. Slowly add flour, it will look dry and crumbly but it will come together nicely.
4. Add the zest and baking powder and a dash of salt.
5. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. (Amount will depend on the softness of butter and if the eggs you are using are on the smaller side)
6. Invert crust on a slightly floured surface and work the dough until it comes together in a ball. Cut about 1/3 of the dough and set aside for topping.
7. Press the remaining 2/3 of dough into a 12-inch pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray for baking. (If you are concerned about being unable to remove the crostata from the pan after baking, use a tart pan with a removable bottom)
8. Poke the crust with a fork at least 15 -20 times, this will prevent any air bubbles from forming while baking.
9. Spread jam evenly on crust.
10. With a rolling pin, roll out remaining dough and cut 8-10 equal strips of dough about ½ inch wide. Using a pastry wheel will make a decorative topping, otherwise, you can also use a pizza cutter.
11. Decorate crostata with a lattice topping.
12. Bake for 35 minutes, cool completely before removing from pan.

Here is one I made with Nutella. It was so amazing, I think I cried a little at the first bite! ​
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For so many reasons, I absolutely love these cookies! For one thing, they are super easy. Secondly, they don't have any butter or oil, which I suppose makes me feel a bit less guilty about enjoying a second one.  And they are very adaptable. You can change the flavor and make them in lemon, vanilla, or almond, which I rarely do myself but some folks don't like anise. And with one little extra step, you can change the consistency of the cookie! It does not get any better than these! 

Below, see the various ways in which you can adapt these.

Anisette Sponge (or Toast) 
Ingredients
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon Anise extract 
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a Silpat, if available.
3.Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
4. With a handheld mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed several minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Add the anise extract.
6.With a rubber spatula, add the flour mixture and blend just until combined, do not overbeat. Batter will be soft. 
7. Pour batter onto the baking sheet and with spatula shape into a log. Batter will be too soft to handle with your hands.
8. Bake for 20 minutes
9. Remove from the over and cool for a few minutes.
10. Using a serrated knife, slice biscotti into slices the size of your choosing.
11. Remove the parchment or Silpat from the tray and add the biscotti cut size down and bake and additional 5 minutes. Then turn them and bake for an additional 5 minutes on that side.

* Adaptations:
You can skip the anise and add any other extract you like. You can also use a standard loaf pan instead of a baking sheet. That will give you a more uniform cookie as they will not spread as much. Alternative you can skip the double bake to create an anisette sponge instead of toast. As you can see, you can really experiment with this recipe! 

So, perhaps you're like me and you bought a giant tub of ricotta on sale to make some stuffed shells or lasagna and now you have some left over in the fridge and you don't know what to do with it? That always seems to happen to me with ricotta. I'll use some, but not all, so I end up with leftovers. That's what I get for buying the larger container because it's cheaper! And let's face it, an opened container of ricotta does not last fresh for more than a day or two! 

So, how about baking with it? Forget the pasta and whip up some butter and eggs instead and you've got yourself a nice treat for tomorrow's coffee break at work!! And let's face it, sometimes coffee break is the best part of the work day! 

These are super easy, the flavor is mild, delicate and perfect for a little snack, actually, they're great in lunch boxes for the kids (and adults!)

For the above image, I doubled the recipe I gave you below, I did so for a party. So if you're looking at the picture and thinking, wait, that's more than 3 dozen, it's because I doubled it. You can double this recipe very easily. 

Cherry Topped Ricotta Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 - 4  dozen cookies

Ingredients 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature for several hours 
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 oz ricotta
3 - 4 dozen maraschino cherry halves (for the holidays, I like a combo of cherry & green)

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes
3. Beat in egg, vanilla and ricotta until well combined.
4. Slowly add in the flour mixture until well combined, but do not over mix. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour, but up to overnight.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
6. With a medium cookie scooper or two spoons, shape some dough into round balls and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. 
7. Press in half a maraschino cherry on top.
8. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. 

Optional:
You can prepare a simple icing with about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 - 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix well and with a fork, drizzle on top of the cookies after cooling, as I have done in the image. 

*Tips: 
If you do not like cherries, you could use an almond or even small chocolate diskette. If you prefer to not add a topping, you could skip one all together and just glaze with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of milk.

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