Sicilian Regina Cookies

These delightful and sophisticated cookies are just barely sweet, with a hint of cinnamon and lemon, and studded with delicately nutty sesame seeds. This recipe is based on one developed by Mona Talbott for the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome with a few modifications inspired by Carol Field, Mary Taylor Simeti, and Anna Tasca Lanza. Regina Cookies were originally made with rendered pork lard. This recipe uses butter instead, reflecting the aristocratic influence of the French-trained monsú during the Bourbon rule of Sicily (and also because because my boyfriend is a vegetarian). I enjoy them with tea or coffee in the morning, or after dinner with a sweet wine or an espresso.

Makes approximately 40 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 00 flour
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds

PROCEDURE

• Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

• Add the butter, milk, egg yolk, and lemon zest all at once to the flour mixture, and mix it on low, just until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic or place in a ziplock bag, and refrigerate for one hour.

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and form it into 1/4 oz balls.

• Place the sesame seeds in a small mixing bowl. Place a bit of cold water in another small bowl. 

• Dip the balls in the cold water, then gently press in the seeds, reshaping the ball into a rectangle/finger shape, approximately 1 ½ inches long. Make sure each cookies is well covered with a layer of seeds. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing the cookies approximately 1-inch apart on the sheet. 

• Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes, or until the cookies are nicely browned and just crisp.

Matcha Chamomile Shortbread Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookies for an afternoon tea. For the coarse sea salt I like to use the Flor de Sal d’Es Trenc Sri Lanka, which contains a blend of coriander seeds, turmeric, fenugreek, cardamom, chilli, black pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, and, of course, coarse sea salt. I was lucky enough to have a great harvest of chamomile flowers in my garden this year, which I dried in the dehydrator for about 24 hours at 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Makes approximately 40 1 1/2 inch cookies)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp matcha powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ tsp almond extract
1 TB dried chamomile flowers
Coarse sea salt, such as Flor de Sal d’Es Trenc

PROCEDURE

• Preheat the oven to 325°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, matcha powder and salt. In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms (it may be slightly crumbly).

• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead once or twice to bring any loose crumbs together. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut out 1 1/2-inch squares. Place the squares about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheets and sprinkle with the chamomile and coarse sea salt.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cookies are just lightly  browned. Let cool and serve.

Rose & Rye Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This is probably one of my favorite cookie recipes. A pinch of Flor de Sal d’Es Trenc Rosa from the island of Mallorca is a beautiful foil for the depth and richness of the chocolate. It’s a delicious and beautiful blend of the hand-harvested sea salt with rose petals, sarawak and szechuan peppers. If you can’t find it or something similar, a plain flaky sea salt will work too. The addition of more rose petals makes these decadent cookies fragrant and beautiful.

Yields 12 (very large!) cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter,  at room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp water
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (broken in large-ish pieces), I like to use Theo dark chocolate bars
Flor de sal d’Es Trenc Rosa sea salt, or other flaky salt, for sprinkling
Organic dried rose petals, I buy from Kalustyans

Procedure

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and put two baking sheets in the freezer (this helps slow the cookies’ spreading as they bake).

• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high until smooth.

• Add the egg, vanilla, molasses, and water and then mix until well-combined.

• Add the flour mix to the wet mix and beat to combine. Stir in the chocolate pieces, mixing until evenly combined. (I do this step by hand).

• Scoop mounds of dough (I like to use a 2 oz portion scoop or “squeeze disher”), onto the prepared baking sheets, and put them back into the freezer.

• Work in batches to bake the cookies; I usually only do 3 or 4 cookies per sheet so that the cookies do not spread into each other during baking.

• Bake for 15 minutes - but after 10 minutes, lift and drop the corner of the pan every few minutes to create the ripple effect on the cookies.

• Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle them right away with the flaky salt and the dried rose petals, and allow them to cool and firm up a bit before moving them to a cooling rack. Repeat the process until you’ve used all the dough.