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A close up cropped image of Befanini cookies on a plate the coloured fairy lights around.
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Befanini (Tuscan Christmas Cookies)

Befanini are Tuscan Christmas Cookies made to celebrate the legend of La Befana. A simple yet delicious buttery cookie dough flavoured with rum and vanilla, cut out into cute shapes and topped with festive sprinkles.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 30 cookies
Calories: 73kcal
Author: Emily Wyper

Equipment

  • christmas cookie cutters

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Italian 00 flour (250g) can also use all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup caster sugar (80g)
  • 8.5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed (120g)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 pinch of salt

Topping

  • 1 egg white
  • sprinkles

Instructions

  • Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs.
  • Next, add the egg, rum, vanilla and lemon zest and blitz until it forms a dough.
  • Remove from the processor and form into a ball then flatten it and wrap it in plastic wrap (cling film). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Once chilled, remove from the fridge and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to soften slightly (don’t let it sit for any longer than 10 minutes). Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the dough to ⅛ inch or ½cm thick.
  • Cut out cookies and place them on a lined baking tray. Refrigerate for half an hour before baking. Any scrap dough can be kneaded back into a ball and rolled out into more cookies.
  • Pre-heat the static oven to 180C (350F). Lightly whisk an egg white for a couple of seconds and brush it over the top of the cookies then top with sprinkles. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. They should be pale and not browned.
  • Let the cookies cool before removing from the tray so they firm up.

Video

Notes

    1. Chill the cookie dough twice - you need to chill the dough before rolling it out or it'll be too sticky to work with. You also need to chill the cookies before baking so they don't shrink.
    2. Flavouring the dough - you can use orange zest instead of lemon or leave it out altogether.
    3. Skipping the rum - if you don't want to add rum you can leave it out (no need to add extra liquid).
    4. Storage and freezing - the cookies will keep well for 5-7 days in a sealed container or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
    5. Serving - may make more cookies depending on size and amount of off-cuts used.
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Nutrition

Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg