The Parisian cookies are delicious rustic big cookies perfect for dunking, particularly prepared in the Ragusa area. The recipe is extremely simple: just mix eggs, sugar, flour, butter or lard with flavors, make a loaf and bake it in the oven, after baking, just slice it to get the Parisians.
Why are they called Parisians? It seems that the name comes from the shape of the loaf, which before baking, resembles a baguette, a typical French bread.
When I read the recipe, I was surprised, these cookies have the same dough as our Bolognese brazadela and the homemade ring cake, the recipes vary by a few dozen grams but in the end, the basic ingredients for cakes, ring cakes, and cookies were and are those listed above.
In the last century, lard was more commonly used, as many farmers had pigs, so it was cheaper to use what was available at home rather than buying a rather expensive ingredient like butter, which also had a very short shelf life; today almost everyone makes them with butter.
Sicilian tradition has them served for breakfast dunked in milk, besides the version I propose today, you can also make them bicolored by adding a bit of cocoa and a splash of milk to half of the dough.
Try also other breakfast cookies:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: for 550 g of cookies
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
- Energy 361.84 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 57.62 (g) of which sugars 25.46 (g)
- Proteins 7.36 (g)
- Fat 12.53 (g) of which saturated 7.62 (g)of which unsaturated 4.62 (g)
- Fibers 1.04 (g)
- Sodium 97.96 (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
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 tbsps butter (or lard)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- lemon zest (grated, half a natural lemon's zest is enough)
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsps granulated sugar
Tools
- 1 Sieve large
- 1 Pastry board
- 1 Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Procedure
You can knead the cookies on the pastry board or in a bowl.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, pour it onto the pastry board forming a fountain.
In the center, insert the eggs, sugar, grated lemon zest, vanilla, and soft butter cut into small cubes.Start incorporating the flour with a fork, then proceed with your hands, working the dough until you get a homogeneous mass similar to a soft shortcrust.
The dough is ready.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the dough and form a loaf.
Brush the surface with a little milk and sprinkle it with granulated sugar which will form a delicious crunchy crust during baking.
Bake the loaf in a preheated static oven at 355°F (180°C) for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the loaf cool slightly and slice it about 1/2 inch thick.
The Parisian cookies for dunking are ready, let them cool completely before serving them.
