The EASTER EGG COOKIES are cute and indulgent treats, perfect for Easter celebrations, easy to make but so good they can be served for an afternoon snack, as tea pastries or even after a meal for a delightful and cheerful dessert.
According to tradition, the egg is an Easter symbol: its outer appearance similar to stone makes it appear inanimate, like a tomb closed by a stone, but inside it contains life, which becomes an image of the resurrection. In these treats all of this is evoked very simply: two crisp shortcrust cookies enclose a delicate pastry cream that emerges from the incision present in the top cookie. Making them is therefore really simple and requires only an oval cookie cutter, which can be replaced by easy-to-make parchment templates at home.
Preparing these cookies is also fun and, if you like, can become a playful activity to do with your greedy children.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter and Spring
- Energy 267.10 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.32 (g) of which sugars 21.83 (g)
- Proteins 4.19 (g)
- Fat 11.32 (g) of which saturated 7.00 (g)of which unsaturated 4.18 (g)
- Fibers 0.51 (g)
- Sodium 42.72 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 52 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 9 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg (medium, at room temperature)
- 2 cups 00 flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- lemon zest
- pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- lemon zest
- 2 2/3 tbsp powdered sugar
Tools
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Cookie cutter egg-shaped cutter, 3 1/8 in
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
PREPARATION EASTER EGG COOKIES
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, work the cold butter with the sugar until creamy. You can perform the same operation in a bowl by hand.
Add the egg and incorporate it. Finally add the sifted flour with the baking powder, a pinch of salt and the lemon zest.
Work everything quickly until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Form a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Place the milk with the lemon zest in a saucepan and bring it almost to a boil.
In a bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar, mix well and then gradually add the cornstarch.
As soon as the milk reaches a boil, remove the lemon zest and pour it slowly, little by little, into the egg mixture, whisking quickly with a hand whisk to temper everything and avoid that the eggs cook and form lumps.
Return the mixture to the heat over low flame and continue cooking, stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon until it thickens.
Once ready place it in a bowl, cover it directly with plastic wrap to avoid the formation of that annoying skin on the surface and let it cool completely.
Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and roll it out on a work surface to a thickness of 3 mm (about 1/8 inch). Using an egg-shaped cookie cutter, 3 1/8 in, cut out many shapes.
In half of the shapes make a central hole using the base of a piping tip or a smaller round cutter. Arrange the shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for a maximum of 12 minutes. They should not brown too much. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
Dust the solid cookie shapes with powdered sugar. Place a teaspoon of pastry cream in the center of the whole eggs, place the shape with the hole on top and press gently so they adhere.
STORAGE
EASTER EGG COOKIES keep well in the refrigerator if stored in a sealed container. You’ll find they taste even better the next day.
