Sicilian Easter sweets or egg sweets (in dialect: cudduri cu l’ova or, as we call them in Catania, aceddi cu l’ova) made with grandma’s recipe. These are large cookies prepared at Easter. They come in various shapes: hearts, bells, ducklings, etc..
The Easter sweets we are talking about are sold during the Easter period, in all Sicilian pastry shops and bakeries.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 10 pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Boiling
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for Sicilian Easter Sweets
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup lard
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp baking ammonia
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 pinch salt
- 10 hard-boiled eggs
- as needed milk (or beaten egg)
- as needed colored sprinkles
Recommended Tools
- Rolling Pin
- Fluted Pastry Wheel
Preparation of SICILIAN EASTER SWEETS
To make the Sicilian Easter sweets, start by drawing on a cardboard or a sheet of paper the shapes you wish to create (bell, duck, heart…), then cut them out. To give you an idea of the size, the round shape is slightly smaller than a coffee saucer, the other shapes are approximately similar in size.
Put the flour in a large bowl, add the lard in pieces and work by rubbing the palms of your hands with the flour and lard until completely absorbed. Add the sugar, make a well in the center, and pour in the milk, add the ammonia, lemon zest, a pinch of salt, and the eggs.
Mix everything well, then pour the dough onto the work surface and knead it until you get a smooth ball (as needed, help yourself by flouring the work surface and your hands).
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
After the necessary time, take the dough, cut it into pieces, and roll it out with the rolling pin into a sheet about 1/5 inch thick. Place the paper shapes you prepared on the sheet and, with a wheel or knife, cut the dough into the various shapes.
With a piece of dough, cut 20 strips about 1/2 inch wide.
Place the sweets on the baking tray lined with parchment paper, being careful to space them well apart (they will expand during cooking). Place a hard-boiled egg in the center of each sweet, then place the dough strips on top in a cross.
Brush the sweets with a little milk, or with a beaten egg, and sprinkle them with the colored sprinkles.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F static, or 320°F fan, for about 15 minutes, until the cookies take on a slightly golden color. Meanwhile, prepare the other trays to alternate them in the oven.
Remove the Easter sweets from the oven, let them cool slightly, then remove them from the tray and let them cool on a rack. Your Easter sweets, or cudduri cu l’ova, or aceddi cu l’ova, are ready. Happy Easter!
WATCH THE VIDEO of the Sicilian Easter sweets:
Notes
You can replace lard with an equal amount of butter or margarine.
You can replace baking ammonia with a packet of baking powder.
You can prepare the dough the day before and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
If you liked this recipe, you might also be interested in Sicilian Milk Biscuits or Sugar Sprinkle Biscuits or Almond Coffee Biscuits.
