These cookies are made at Easter time. The recipe differs from place to place, and some use orange juice and orange jest and others use vanilla. You can use either vanilla or orange juice or both – whatever you prefer. If you wish to use only vanilla, you must substitute the orange juice with milk. Either way, they are very nice and I am sure you will like them.
Ingredients 1½ kilos flour 400 – 500 gr. sugar (depends on how sweet you want the cookies) 5 eggs plus one yolk 300 gr. butter (or margarine) 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoonful baking soda ½ teaspoon salt Zest from two oranges 2 vanillas ½ cup milk ½ cup orange juice 3 tablespoons brandy
Directions
Weigh the flour, add the baking powder, the salt and the two vanillas and mix well.
In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine with the sugar very well, until it becomes light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one by one beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, beat the 6 egg whites until you have a meringue. Add the brandy, the milk and the zest of the oranges to the butter mixture. Put the orange juice in a glass and add the baking soda. Stir it and as it will foam, hold the glass over the bowl with the beaten butter. Stir everything gently and start adding the flour little by little alternatively with the meringue and knead the dough. When all the ingredients have been incorporated, let the dough rest for 10 – 15 minutes. Then take small amounts of the dough and shape the cookies any way you fancy. Place the cookies on greaseproof paper in a baking sheet.
Beat the egg yolk with 2 – 3 drops of water and brush the tops of the cookies. Bake them at 180oC for 10 – 20 minutes, depending on their size, until they are a very light golden color.