I subscribe digitally to several cooking magazines, but when I walk past the newsstand, I still like to take a look at the new releases and maybe flip through the pages of the magazine! That’s exactly how the photo of these pan meini or pan de mei caught my eye on the latest issue of La Cucina Italiana prepared by Iginio Massari and I couldn’t resist: I returned home with a great desire to make them myself.
The traditional recipe also calls for the addition of dried elderflower, which gives a delicate and characteristic aroma. However, I didn’t have them available, so we enjoyed them in a simpler version, still very aromatic and perfect for breakfast or a snack.
The pan meino, or pan de mej in Milanese dialect, is a typical Lombard cookie that originates in regional peasant cooking and seems to be associated with the day of St. George, April 23rd.
There are several variants, also prepared by other Italian culinary excellences, and among others, I read about a recipe by Carlo Cracco, who omits the elderflowers and adds anise liqueur.
In short, if you want, you have the means and ways to experiment and taste these fragrant and delicious sweets!
Note
The egg quantities are in grams and I will try to write them more simply, that is, practically, in the kitchen:
1 medium egg (without shell) weighs about 50–55 g
1 yolk weighs about 18–20 g
So:
✅ 110 g of eggs ≈ 2 medium eggs
✅ 40 g of yolks ≈ 2 yolks
👉 In short: 2 whole eggs + 2 yolks.
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I also have a free WhatsApp channel with a sweet and a savory recipe a day: click and subscribe → https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F
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I’ll leave you other Lombard recipes like:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 30 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Lombardy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 6 oz butter (softened)
- 6 oz powdered sugar
- 6 oz cornmeal
- 6 oz all-purpose flour
- 110 g eggs
- 40 g egg yolks
- 0.7 oz candied orange peels (finely chopped)
- 0.7 oz candied lemon peels (finely chopped)
- 6 g baking powder
- 1/2 vanilla (vanilla bean or a pinch of vanilla paste as it's very concentrated)
- 1 pinch salt
- q.b. elderflowers (dried)
- 1.4 oz powdered sugar (plus a small additional quantity)
- 0.7 oz all-purpose flour
- 1/2 vanilla pods
- 3.4 fl oz water
Tools
- Brushes
- Stand Mixers
- Electric Whisks
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Dishes
- Piping Bags
- Plain Nozzles
Steps
Beat the softened butter with powdered sugar in the stand mixer using the whisk attachment.
Add the finely chopped peels and mix well to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Sift the baking powder and cornmeal, then add to the mixture, also adding the sifted flour and the seeds from the vanilla bean (or the liquid paste).
In another bowl, mix the yolks with a pinch of fine salt until completely absorbed. Add the yolks to the stand mixer, then the eggs, and finally the sifted flours in three stages, continuing to mix and slightly increasing the speed of the device.
Gather the mixture into a pastry bag with a plain tip of 0.4 inches in diameter.
Form the cookies on the baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing each disc of dough for optimal baking.
Place the sheets in the refrigerator for 5/7 minutes.
FOR THE GLAZE
Mix the water with the flour, powdered sugar, and vanilla and brush it on the cookies gently pressed with hands.
Add elderflowers (if you have them) and dust the pan de mei cookies with plenty of powdered sugar.
Bake them at 356°F for 7/8 minutes, then remove and let them cool.
Serve them with more powdered sugar on top and maybe a few spoonfuls of whipped cream!
Enjoy your meal!
Annalisa
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°A delicious accompaniment cream is the vanilla anglaise without flour
read→ https://blog.giallozafferano.it/asilannablu/ricetta-crema-inglese-ricetta-senza-farina/
Storage
The pan meini cookies stored in an airtight container in a cool place can be kept for about twenty days.
