The Doll with Egg is a typical Sardinian dessert prepared at Easter. On festive days, my grandmother always made this traditional dessert; these cookies remind me fondly of my childhood. Little pastry sculptures, delicious and also great as gift ideas. It’s said that this dessert was once called typical Easter bread and was made with semolina. The dough was worked to look almost like embroidery and was given in the days leading up to Easter as a symbol of peace and prosperity. Each day a little piece was eaten to feel Easter approaching. Usually, for girls, these cookies were made in the shape of dolls, “the doll” or “little doll,” which were enriched with the boiled egg. The Doll with Egg is still made today as tradition, not just in doll form but in all its shapes. This dessert changes name from area to area in Sardinia. If you want to prepare it with me, let’s get hands-on!”
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8/9
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Easter
- Energy 394.52 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 58.06 (g) of which sugars 20.54 (g)
- Proteins 9.26 (g)
- Fat 15.38 (g) of which saturated 9.24 (g)of which unsaturated 5.76 (g)
- Fibers 2.27 (g)
- Sodium 42.82 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 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
The Doll with Egg Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup butter (softened)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 lemon peel (grated, untreated)
- 1 orange peel (grated, untreated)
- as needed colored sprinkles
- eggs (to decorate the cookies)
- 1 egg (beaten)
Tools
- Stand Mixer optional
- Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking Sheet
- Large Bowl
- 1 Fluted Pastry Wheel
The Doll with Egg Preparation
First, cook the eggs until hard-boiled and meanwhile prepare the dough.
Place the flour in a large bowl or on a work surface. In the center, add the sugar, diced butter, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest, and eggs.
I prefer to knead by hand, but a stand mixer can also be used, making sure the dough doesn’t get too warm.
Start kneading the ingredients well until forming a soft and smooth dough. If it seems too sticky, add some flour.
In the end, our dough should be nice and smooth, and without resting, we can start rolling it out. Shape it into forms that you like, using paper templates found online if needed. Cut the dough into basket, doll, heart, bell shapes, or others.
Make space to position the previously cooked egg in the center and secure it with dough strips, brush the dessert with a little beaten egg. Finally, add colored sprinkles for garnish. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place our treats on top, keeping them spaced as they will expand a bit during baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F to 390°F for about 20-25 minutes, always checking the baking process and adjusting according to your oven before taking them out. Baking time also varies based on size and thickness; when the dolls become nicely golden, they’re ready. Take them out with the baking sheet and let cool before transferring to a plate.
These Easter treats are also beautiful to give as gifts, I’m sure they will be appreciated.
Happy Easter and enjoy your treat!
In some desserts, I used eggs colored by me, using natural origin colors, like fruit and vegetables find the recipe here.
I’ll leave you with other versions of Easter treats.
Bunny
Nest
The Doll with Egg Variations
For the decoration, instead of colored sprinkles, you can use chopped hazelnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, and others. You might be interested: QUICK EASTER COLOMBA
