Befana Cookie Recipe

[Paula]

Donna and Aggieb asked me to post this recipe so here it goes. It's a very sentimental recipe for my family...

This cookie recipe is for a traditional Italian cookie called Befana that is named after the Christmas witch (la Befana) who leaves Italian children goodies on the Epiphany. My grandmother, mother, me, and now the kids have made this cookie recipe, now going on 4 generations. The recipe is an adaptation of Mrs. Lucchesi's recipe, who I remember as having that white/blue hair when I was growing up.

Makes 50 medium-size cookies

Cookie:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 cups flour
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Nut Meringue Topping
2 egg whites
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (I use a small electric chopper to chop them so that they get fine enough -- they really should be quite fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons rum extract

To make cookie: Soften butter in a bowl and cream with sugar and the 2 eggs and 2 yolks. Mix in lemon extract and vanilla extract. Add sifted flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well, but do not work dough too much. Refrigerate dough for at least two hours. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut with different shaped cookie cutters, working quickly so dough doesn't soften. Keep unused portion in refrigerator until ready to use. Using a spatula, carefully place cookies on greased cookie sheets.

To make topping: While the dough is in the refrigerator and right before you take it out to roll and cut out the cookie dough, make the topping. Mix nuts, sugar, and flavorings together in a bowl. Beat two egg whites until stiff and fold in mixed ingredients. Place one small teaspoon of topping in the center of each unbaked cookie and then bake the cookie for 20-25 minutes in a preheated 300 - 325 degree oven until lightly browned. This is an old recipe, so the baking time is designed to make the cookies come out hard. I like to underbake them a bit so that they come out softer (I think our taste buds have changed over the decades), so I cook them for about 15 minutes so that they don't get crispy. Remove cookies to cookie racks. When cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

[iwishiwasthere]

Thank you for this recipe. I teach my students about Befana, and they will love eating these cookies!

[Paula]

You're welcome, of course, IwishIwasthere. There are a lot of stories about the Befana and here's an old one I heard years ago.

There is an interesting legend that goes with these cookies. Rather than wait patiently at home for the Christmas Witch, the Befana, to come, in some areas Italian children go from house to house asking for Befana. When a woman answers the door, they repeat the following verse:

Se befana a noi ci date
Via contenti Anderemo
La Madonna pregeremo
Che marito voi trovate

Roughly translated, they're saying that

If you give us some befana
We'll go away content
We'll pray to the Madonna
That you'll find a husband

[DuneAHH]

Paula, I've never heard of these cookies before. This recipe looks delicious...that nut meringue topping is so unique.

I'm intimidated about rolling out dough....do you think it would work to roll the dough into a log, refrigerate, and then slice off circles?

[Paula]

Hi Dune-Ahhh. They're really simple butter and sugar cookies with a bit of a light lemon flavor, so I think they would work just fine in a log. We like to cut them into shapes because that's the family tradition. The meringue and nut topping is quite tasty. They really need the sifted confectioners sugar on top when they're done baking and cool off for a little more sweetness. Hope you like them if you make them.

[aggieb]

Thank You Paula, I can make these for Gianluca.

[DuneAHH]

Hi Dune-Ahhh. They're really simple butter and sugar cookies with a bit of a light lemon flavor, so I think they would work just fine in a log. We like to cut them into shapes because that's the family tradition. The meringue and nut topping is quite tasty. They really need the sifted confectioners sugar on top when they're done baking and cool off for a little more sweetness. Hope you like them if you make them.

ThX

[Paula]

You're welcome, Dune-AHH and Aggieb. You can sing "Tu Scende delle stelle", the traditional Italian Christmas song, when you give Gianluca the befana. You can hear it on the Internet, maybe even YouTube. I LOVE that song.

[seacrestkristi]

I copied and pasted too. Thanks gull!