Easter cookies in Abruzzo

The Easter egg of my childhood were shaped like a ... doll, or rather a Pupa.

To understand how this custom was rooted in Abruzzo, come on holiday during Holy Week and while you walk among the overflows of Teatine' coast and the gentle hills of Pescara and Teramo or in the ancient villages between  Majella and  Gran Sasso you will feel in the air  scents of toasted almonds, golden cookies, colored sugars. The art of confectionery from Abruzzo is at least as varied as the region itself.

Pupe, horses and hearts  are Easter cookies; once they exchanged on this day with the promises of lovers, then the children took possession of them. The egg is always present because it's the new life symbol , fertility,  good luck, the colored sugars because they are cheerful just like children smiles.

In some places they are covered with a chocolate glaze or almond paste, in others simply eggs, sugar and flour. The only difficult thing is ... eating them. You never know where to start: "what if it hurts? But if I start with  hair does it stay bald? And the legs that it can't run anymore?"

This year I wanted to have fun and I found my grandmother's recipe in the drawer of memories (ah! Grandmothers, can you imagine a world without?) Or rather, I tried to give a definite amount to what she did " by eye "and here it is:

- 500gr. flour, 

- 4 eggs + 1 for decoration,

- 5 tablespoons of sugar,

- 1 glass of milk,

-1 glass of oil,

- 1 sachet of vanilla yeast,

- sugary to decorate

In a table, mix all the ingredients and let the dough rest for half an hour covered with a cloth. Then esplanades  and cut out the figures with a mold or rather "by hand", leaving your imagination free, perhaps kneading with your children.

Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes and voila, magic created. 

Enjoy Easter