Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
These little morsels can be made in any shape for your sweetie. Buy the book for the jam recipe mentioned in the headnote. Next on my list: Torta della Nonna; Chocolate, pear, brown sugar and hazelnut cake; and the One True Apple Cake. What could be better?
Recipe excerpted with permission from La Vita è Dolce by Letitia Clark, published by Hardie Grant Books, June 2021
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These little jammy flower-shaped cookies, called Ciambelline, are enormously popular in Sardinia, and with good reason. They’re lovely to look at, quick to make and popular with everyone. They are also the perfect thing to make with children (if you make them with children, filling them with Nutella rather than jam seems to be the most popular option, unsurprisingly).
If you make your own jam, then of course use that. The recipe for Apricot Jam is a favourite. (Seedless) raspberry jam is good, as is a crab apple jelly or blackberry/blackcurrant jam. Anything a little bit tart. Like most Sardinian dolci, these are traditionally made with lard, but you can replace it with butter. The dough can be frozen easily and used at a later date.
You can make these with simple round cutters if you can’t find flower-shaped ones, or any other shape you like (such as stars for Christmas), but it’s nice to have the hole in the top part of the cookie so you can see the shiny, jewel-like jam through it, like a Jammy Dodger.
Makes 30–40
500 g (1 lb 2 oz/4 cups) 00 or plain (all-purpose) flour
175 g (6 oz/1 1⁄3 cups, plus 2 tbsp) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
200 g (7 oz) butter or lard, softened
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 jar of your favourite jam or Nutella
Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer until you have a smooth dough. (If making it by hand, put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, add the butter or lard and rub the fat into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg and egg yolk along with the vanilla and lemon zest, kneading gently until you have a smooth dough.)
Wrap the dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and put in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 170ºC (340ºF/Gas 3). Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.
Remove the chilled dough and roll it out to a 2–3 mm (1/8 in) thickness. Use your cutters to cut equal numbers of top and bottom pieces. Carefully lift the cookies onto their baking sheets and space them 1 cm (1⁄2 in) or so apart.
Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake until just golden, 15–18 minutes. Allow to cool before placing a teaspoon of jam or Nutella onto each base, and then placing the top cookie over it and pressing down gently.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.
These keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Tracey Zabar's Chocolate Chip Sweets: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes is available here.
A delectable collection of innovative chocolate chip recipes by world-renowned chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers
Tracey Zabar's One Sweet Cookie Cookbook is available here.
A delicious collection of cookie recipes from extraordinary chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers. A great gift sure to delight anyone who loves to bake.
