For Dough [Makes 3 large cookies]

4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour *
1/2 cup melted lard (e.g., Tenderflake)*
1 tablespoon baking powder
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons of finely grated lemon zest mixed with 1 tablespoon of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of finely grated orange zest mixed with 1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

For Decoration

3 cooked hard-boiled small eggs in their shells
2 beaten egg yolks for brushing
Raisins, multi-colored sprinkles for decorating

* Measurement is approximate

Mix ingredients and work into a cookie dough. If the dough is too soft add more flour, if it's too hard add more lard.

Wrap the dough in clear plastic and let it rest for an hour or so.

On a floured board, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Note that if the dough is too thin it will burn and break easily. If it's too thick it might not cook right -- so the thickness of the cookie dough is very important.

Cut the dough in the shape of a doll or a basket or a donkey, about 7 to 9 inches high (If one can't get a commercial cookie cutters in these shapes or sizes, one can draw them on cardboard and then use them as cookie cutters).

Make more cookies with the left-over dough.

Place a hard-boiled egg (in its shell) on each large cookie made with the dough.

Brush the top of each cookie with egg yolk (including each hard boiled egg).

Decorate the cookies.

Place the cookies on baking sheets that have been greased (or have silicon-based baking mats over them).*

Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden (if it turns brown it will taste burnt).

Serve at room temperature.



* For best results use aluminum cookie sheets that are sold in "Dollar Shops" [e.g. "Titan Foil"] and then place silicon cookie sheets [e.g. Professional Bakeware's thick red-colored ones sold at Canadian Tire] on top of them. These cheaper aluminum cookie sheets do not conduct heat as well as the more expensive cookie sheets available in specialty shops which surprisingly is a good thing. In aluminum cookware the bottoms of the cookies don't cook faster than the tops, resulting in more evenly-cooked cookies (No burnt cookie bottoms!).

As far as Gemma Forliano remembers households in Terlizzi, Puglia did not make braided Easter logs (as those in Molise did) prior to World War II. However they did make Easter cookies that came in the shapes of donkeys, baskets, crescent moons and stars. The doll-shaped cookies in Puglia were called "spouse" (brides). The "spouse" did not necessarily hold the boiled eggs in their arms as they did in Molise, but they did have the hard-boiled eggs on their stomachs. Multi-colored sprinkles were used to decorate the "spouse" (In Molise silver sprinkles were used). In Puglia cookies were also made in the shape of men but these were just called "men" -- not spousi. Cookies were also made in the shapes of donkeys, baskets, stars and crescent moons. All these cookies were decorated with hard-boiled eggs (still in their shells). As in Molise, the Easter cookies were given on Easter Sunday in Puglia, but the cookies were actually supposed to be eaten on Easter Monday when families went to the countryside and there had picnics. While Gemma Forliano enjoyed the cookies her mother made, she never got around to writing down the recipe. As her mother is now ill and in a nursing home and unable to give her the recipe she used, Gemma is at a loss (She so regrets not writing down her mother's traditional recipe, but then, of course, she is an artist and has no interest in cooking whatsoever, though of course, she does like to eat!). To make a long story short, she found that the Easter cookies made by Mary Melfi using her Zia Rosina's recipe tasted very similar to what her mother made during the Easter holidays, except, her mother's cookies tasted heavily of orange zest and vanilla extract which were not in Mary's cookies. So Gemma made the cookie forms for Mary to make the cookies, and Mary tried her best to come up with a dough that might resemble her mother's recipe. Whether or not she succeeded is hard to say, but in any case, the cookies made with the above recipe were eaten and very much enjoyed.... One more thing -- if one is searching the world-wide net for desserts from Puglia, it is worth noting that some sites describe them as Puglian, others as Apuglian, but the majority seem to use the word: Pugliese.... Photo: Mary Melfi.

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