Venetian biscuits

I sometimes have the impression that people tend to complicate simple things until they ruin it.
Take the movie I saw last night, for instance (I’m still trying to understand all the fuss and Oscar nominations). A very interesting story – I’ve heard so much about the book I want to read it – was reduced to a sort of fashion editorial. Not to mention the awful choice for a leading lady: a girl who can’t act to save her life, pouts all the time and that probably last ate in 1995.

I wouldn’t do the same to these simple, light and beautiful cookies – it’s a recipe by Ursula Ferrigno that I got on Valentina’s blog. My only change was to add orange zest to the dough. What a wonderful smell that brought to the cookies.

Venetian biscuits

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
225g (8oz) sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
4 egg yolks
1 egg
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with nonstick baking paper (or lightly buttered baking paper).

In a medium bowl, beat all the ingredients together to form a dough – start using a wooden spoon then finish mixing by hand.

Working on a lightly floured surface, grab small portions of dough – I used ½ tablespoons per cookie – and roll out the dough into strips or “sausages”; form them into “S” shapes and place on the prepared pans.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Slide the paper to a wire rack and set aside to cool; peel the cookies carefully from the paper.

Makes about 35