Biscotti Reginelle

Biscotti Reginelle, aka Biscotti Regina or Biscotti Inciminati, are classic cookies from Palermo (the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo), but they are popular all over the island of Sicily. They were named after Queen Margherita di Savoia, hence the name Biscotti Reginelle, which means Queen Cookies.
These delicious Italian cookies are not too sweet and are loaded with sesame seeds. The crunchy texture makes them the perfect accompaniment to coffee, hot chocolate, or sweet wine. To make these cookies even more authentic, use 100% of lard instead of a mix of butter and lard. Once completely cooled you can store these cookies in an air tight container for at least two weeks. They freeze well too.

450 g Cake or pastry flour
140 g Xylitol (or regular sugar)
1/4 tsp Sea salt
2 tsp Baking powder
100 g Unsalted butter, softened
100 g Lard, softened
2 Medium eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 tsp Pure vanilla powder
1 tbsp Orange zest
150 g Sesame seeds, lightly toasted for coating

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, and ammonium carbonate and mix until combined. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, mix in the butter and lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the beaten eggs, vanilla powder and orange zest and mix until the dough is formed. It will be crumbly. Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball. If it's too stiff, add a little of water. Wrap in a plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Remove the dough and allow it to rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the sesame seeds out onto a plate.
Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece into a log about the thickness of your thumb. Cut each log into about 5cm / 2inch pieces.
Brush each cookie with water and roll in sesame seeds. Bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool completely and enjoy!

8 comments:

ellie 26/10/24 13:19: They certainly look scrumptious! Wonderful weekend treat!
Caitlin&Megan 26/10/24 13:21: Oh, I have been wanting a recipe for this. Wow! These look so good! Thank you so much!
Lola Martínez 26/10/24 13:25: Si llevan manteca de cerdo quedan hojaldradas y aunque sé que no puedo abusar de ella, me comería unas cuantas encantada.
eileeninmd 26/10/24 13:50: Hello Angie,
Your biscotti look delicious, thanks for the recipe.
Take care, have a great weekend.
DEZMOND 26/10/24 13:56: They look gorgeous, too bad they are not savoury but sweeet. I made sunflower and buckwheat crackers today.
Tom 26/10/24 14:02: ...they look mighty good to me!
My name is Erika. 26/10/24 14:19: I like cookies that aren't too sweet. I'm going to add these to my list of cookies to try making which is a project for this winter.
Christine 26/10/24 15:17: Yummy