After learning how to make almond paste, preparing the Easter lambs will be easy and fun. They are cookies of shortcrust pastry cut into lamb or rabbit shapes and baked plain. Once cooled, armed with a piping bag and a star tip, I cover them with almond paste in tufts and turn them into chubby, furry little animals. Then a chocolate chip for an eye and a red bow are enough to make the Easter lambs (and the bunnies) truly cute. If I want them snowy white, I dust the almond-paste fur with powdered sugar. Every now and then I like a black sheep: in that case my ally is unsweetened cocoa.
Making the cookies and decorating them is an activity full of benefits. First, it frees creativity and fights stress; it also delights children (and the grown-ups with them); and finally, above all, they are delicious. I have made many versions, reusable on different occasions as long as you change shape and appearance. Remember the chocolate and mint Christmas cookies, the chocolate black cats and the cinnamon cookies with almond flakes?
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Moderate
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 400.67 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 49.06 (g) of which sugars 32.21 (g)
- Proteins 7.00 (g)
- Fat 21.01 (g) of which saturated 2.95 (g)of which unsaturated 15.90 (g)
- Fibers 3.07 (g)
- Sodium 202.03 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 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
What you need for the Easter lambs
For the almond paste recipe, consult the basic recipe, and likewise for the shortcrust pastry.
- 18 oz almond paste
- 18 oz shortcrust pastry dough
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (As needed for decorating)
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp powdered sugar
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Tools
For these Easter lambs you need Easter cookie cutters and a piping bag.
How to prepare Easter lambs with almond paste
Since I’ve already discussed how to prepare almond paste and shortcrust pastry, below we’ll only describe the assembly of these Easter cookies.
After preparing the shortcrust pastry, roll it out with the rolling pin to a thickness of about a centimeter (about 1/2 inch); do this between two sheets of parchment paper and then let it rest in the refrigerator for half an hour. Then cut out many little lambs, and bake them at 356°F for about fifteen minutes. Be careful they do not brown, otherwise the effect won’t be as nice.
The cookies will cool quickly and we can proceed with the almond-paste coat. I recommend preparing a soft almond paste, using all the water the recipe asks for, otherwise you won’t be able to work with the piping bag. Since the idea is to simulate the rolls of wool on the lambs, choose the right tip to get that effect. After covering the shortcrust with irregular little tufts of almond paste, the cookies will look like plump, furry lambs. Finish with chocolate chips for the eyes, a little bow if you like, and a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa.
Let’s have a little chat
The story of these lambs comes from my passion for almond paste and for the Easter lamb: the one with the red tongue and the flag that is in all shop windows these days alongside eggs and colomba cake. Every year I’d like to have the plaster mold shipped from Sicily so I can make it at home. Then I always forget and in an instant it’s Easter. This makeshift version, in any case, satisfies me enough. I was luckier with the rabbits, because I found small molds that allow me to make pretty three-dimensional little rabbits, to which I then draw a nose and whiskers. During Holy Week I care for them and get attached, and there is always one that becomes my favorite. On Easter day, when we eat them while chatting (without mercy even for the prettiest bunny), I always feel a little pang. Very little though, because almond paste is to die for.
Back to the HOME, you’ll find many other sweet and savory ideas, for Easter or for everyday, and many vegetarian dishes. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram: there are quick recipes, lots of useful tips and you’ll never be without dinner ideas again.
