Every year starting from the Christmas period onwards, the family tradition is to prepare viscotta ca a cartina! I don’t know their real name, because that’s what my husband’s grandma calls them, simply because these cookies are baked in paper cups! Indeed, this ancient recipe is her legacy, which I gladly embraced because these butter cookies are so delicious and irresistible that once you unwrap and taste one, it will be really hard to stop at just one! Grandma Agata baked them in the stone oven and prepared several trays to give to the whole neighborhood or to anyone who asked for them! Of course, the taste changes if baked in an electric oven, but they remain special, and anyone who has tasted them has wanted the recipe. So here I am sharing it with you! I leave you both the traditional doses and my revised version where the quantities of butter and sugar are more considered, as well as the use of refined flour! Personal taste choices have led me to prefer a more rustic and less sweet flavor. In any case, they will be small treats to enjoy at tea or to offer or gift during the Christmas holidays!

If you love cookies and are always looking for new recipes to try, also experiment with these typical Sicilian traditional pastry preparations:

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Economical
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Portions: approx. 50 cookies
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Christmas, Autumn, Winter

Original Recipe Ingredients

⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; buying them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 oz butter
3 egg yolks
1 egg
2 1/2 oz candied cherries (red)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups type 1 flour
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
5 1/2 oz butter
3 egg yolks
1 egg
2 1/2 oz candied cherries
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Tools

1 Small Pot
1 Wooden Spoon
1 Bowl
1 Teaspoon
1 Baking Tray
50 Paper Cups
1 Cooling Rack

Steps

Making Grandma Agata’s butter cookies is really easy: start by melting the butter over low heat in a small pot, then turn off and let it cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, pour the flour (or flours in my version) and the sifted baking powder, create a well in the center and beat the egg and yolks inside.
Add the melted and slightly cooled butter and mix with a spoon.
Finally, add the sugar.
Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes.
Then transfer to the work surface and continue to knead until you get a smooth and compact dough. Wrap it in food wrap and put it in the fridge for 30′ or in the freezer for 15′.
Meanwhile, place approx. 50 paper cups on a baking tray, take half of the dough and form with slightly moist hands balls of about 18 grams each and place them in the individual cups. Continue until all the dough is used up.
Garnish each cookie with candied cherries cut into small pieces. Put in a preheated oven and bake at 356°F for 15′. Since timings vary from oven to oven, I recommend keeping them in the oven until they are slightly golden.
Turn off, remove them from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
And voila… the viscotta ca a cartina are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
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