While growing up in Calabria, I was blessed that my mom was a stay-at-home mom. I didn't realize what a privilege this was until we moved here to the States and she become a "working mother." Don't get me wrong, I love that my mother immediately adjusted to our new life in the US, and she had a nice job in banking, but I did miss having her home when I returned from school! Oh sigh.....
I was spoiled, no doubt about it. My school was located directly across from our home (the town I grew up in was very small!), and school let out about 12:30, and I headed straight home to a nice home-cooked meal! No PB & J for this kid, it was a full meal, with dessert afterwards! What's a stay-at-home mom to do in Southern Italy? Cook and bake the day away! And she always did it with LOVE. I recall her "S" cookies very fondly because she made them very often, sometimes 2-3 times a week! We would have them for our morning snack in school, sometimes for breakfast, or even for dessert! These are ideal for breakfast because they are very plain, not overly sweet and very simple. Even her older parents loved them. As is typical in older Southern recipes, these call for oil instead of butter. Oil was (and still is) the fat of choice in the South so this isn't too shocking. Use the "extra light tasting" oil in this to avoid the strong scent and flavor typically found in EVOO. Ideal for afternoon tea or dunking in a nice cup of espresso in the morning, these simple cookies are sure to delight your palates.
Mom's Italian "S" cookies
Depending on the size, this recipe makes anywhere from 40 - 60 cookies! Ingredients 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 4 large eggs, plus 1 additional egg for the topping 1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for topping 3/4 cup light tasting olive oil zest of one lemon or one orange (or both for extra flavor!) Directions 1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2) Prepare several baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper and set aside. 3) Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside. 4) Using a stand mixer, combine 4 eggs, sugar, oil and zest. Mix just until all ingredients are blended. 5) Add in the flour mix and beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 2-3 minutes. Paying close attention that you do not over mix. 6) Transfer the dough to a floured surface and give it one final mix by hand until flour is fully incorporated. 7) Pull pieces of dough and roll out ropes that are about 1 inch thick. Depending on the size of your desired cookies, dough pieces can be anywhere from 4 - 7 inches long. (Of course, depending on how much dough you use, you will end up with either a small, medium or large cookie) 8) Continue shaping the rest of the dough into Ss and place on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. 9) In a small bowl beat the remaining egg with a fork to make an egg wash, brush each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle with a small pinch of additional sugar. 10) Depending on the size of the cookies, they will bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown on top and on the bottom. *For added sweetness, these can be glazed with a glaze made of confectionary sugar, 1 -2 teaspoons of milk and zest of one lemon or orange. Stored in an airtight container, these can last up to several weeks.
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11 Comments
Theresa Pellegrine
1/31/2018 06:51:22 pm
This reminds me of my cookie of the month. It’s biscotti. My grandchildren love them, my husband has a couple for breakfast. And they are great for unexpected company. I am going to try the S cookies for a change . Thanks for posting.
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Francesca
2/1/2018 04:12:29 pm
Enjoy Theresa! I hope you like the "S" ones too. They are great for breakfast!
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Patty
9/26/2019 07:25:45 am
These were always our favorite cookies to buy at Court Street Bakery in Brooklyn!! Now we're in Atlanta, and there's nothing that comes close to S cookies, so I am thrilled to find this recipe!! Thanks for sharing! PS: my family is from Calabria, too!!
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Francesca
9/26/2019 09:15:10 am
So glad you found this recipe Patty, or perhaps it found you! I hope you enjoy them!
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Pat Mattera
5/10/2020 07:29:02 am
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Francesca!! My Aunt Rose, from Calabria, taught me to make traditional Italian Easter bread, which we eat with ricotta cheese. Do you make that as well?? PS: I got an e mail to see if I want to continue with this bolg(?)...yes, I would..how do I do that??..please e mail me when you have a chance!! Happy Mother's Day to you!!
Elisa Di Stefano Pitaluga
5/10/2020 04:41:13 am
Do you let the dough rest at all? I am looking for the S cookie that is a little crunchy and dry not glazed or sugared. Would these be the same?
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Francesca
5/11/2020 06:24:10 am
Hi Elisa, no need to let the dough rest at all. These are relatively crunchy and not overly sweet. Let me know if you make them and how they work out!
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patricia cinotti
10/3/2021 06:25:02 am
im 89 years old my parents were from abruzzi mama made all these breads she always said when you have flour and water you will never go hungary she said this in italian natrally
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Elisa Pitaluga
10/3/2021 09:15:30 am
I will let you know!!! Thank you....
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Cassandra
12/18/2021 05:24:42 pm
These are amazing. I first discovered Italian S cookies from “cooking with Clara” on YouTube years ago. So this year Ii determined to bake them and biscotti from Christmas. So glad I tried this recipe! I’m normally a chocolate girl. The more the better so I was really making these for my coffee drinking friends. Well let me tell you I would eat these any time. The zest from the orange is so much stronger than I thought it would be. I’m so glad I didn’t add vanilla extract think I thought of doing. I only got 28 cookies and I cut them about 6” sorry for the typing error I’m having problems fixing them. Thank you for posting recipe.
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Corazon Geng
12/21/2021 08:58:33 am
Wow thanks a lot for your wonderful recept i like this kind of Cookies.
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