Maltese Figolli Biscuits Recipes

MALTESE FIGOLLI BISCUITS

Steps:

• Finely grate the zest of 2 lemons
• Cut the butter (200g) into cubes and place in a large bowl with the plain flour (400g), caster sugar (250g) and baking powder (1 tsp). Rub the butter into the dry ingredients (as you would if you're making pastry) until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add the lemon zest and orange blossom water (4 tsp) to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute them through the other ingredients.
• Add the egg yolks (5 yolks) and using your hands mix them into the other ingredients until they come together (I tend to find that using a squeezing action works best).
• Wrap the dough in cling film and pop it into a fridge for a few minutes while you make the filling.
• Put all of your ingredients into a large bowl (200g caster sugar, 2 medium egg whites, 200g ground almonds, 2 tsp almond extract).
• Mix until combined (yes, it's that simple!)
• Make the biscuits
• Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan
• Line your baking tray with some greaseproof paper or similar (I always use bake-o-glide sheets)
• Roll out your biscuit dough until it is about 2mm thick (I prefer to only roll out enough for a couple of biscuits at a time as it's more manageable). If you find that the dough is sticking to the rolling pin/work surface then try rolling it out between two sheets of cling film, that way it peels off easily.
• Roll out the filling (again, this is much easier to do between two sheets of cling film).
• Using a cookie cutter, cut two identical shapes from the dough and one from the filling. Make a sandwich of dough, filling, dough and place onto your baking tray. If you're cutting a fancy shape it can be a little tricky to line up the three layers. To get them perfectly aligned, cut the shape in the dough, place the cut shape onto the filling and use it to line up to cutter, pick up both pieces together and then put these onto the dough for making the base.
• Once you've cut out all of your biscuits, put them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until they're starting to brown on top.
• Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Once they've cooled they're ready to decorate (or as I prefer, sprinkle with icing sugar and gobble them all up :-) )

FIGOLLI (MALTESE ALMOND-FILLED EASTER COOKIES)

Steps:

• Combine the dry ingredients. Work in the margarine until the mixture is crumbly. Beat eggs with vanilla and pour into the mixture. Work the mixture until it forms a dough. Do not overwork. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for about an hour.
• Mix the filling ingredients when you are ready to use it.
• Roll out the dough to approximately 1/4" thickness. Cut the dough into the desired shape. Make two of the same shape, with one slightly larger. Place one piece on a floured baking sheet or greased glass dish if making a rectangle. Spread some of the filling on the dough, leaving a finger-width gap at the edges. Wet the edges and place the larger piece on top. Pat around the edges to ensure the pieces of dough form a seal.
• Bake at 350F for approximately 30-40 minutes depending on the size. Look for a golden bottom.
• Allow to cool completely. Make a thick icing of icing sugar and water. We add a touch of almond extract for added flavour. Another option is to melt chocolate. Cover the cookie with your choice of icing. Ice on a cooling rack with waxed paper underneath to catch drippings. Allow to harden. If you feel creative, you can decorate the shape with coloured icing, candy decorations, etc.