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200g soft butter
400g flour
80g sugar
2 egg yolks / 2 egg whites
1 teaspoon lemon zest
dash of salt
250ml water
filling: 180g sugar
250g almond flour
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
On the beautiful island of Malta in February the Prinjolata is made. This unusually decorated cake that represents a snowy mountain will be served at every cafe and confectionery during Carnival week. You can eat Imqaret (fried date pastries) which sweet snacks are sold in stalls on every street corner.
Then there are all kinds of almond biscuits like in November Ghadam tal-Mejtin (dead men's bones), for Christmas they bake Qaghaq ta 'l-Ghasel (honey wreaths) during Lent there are Kwarezimal (almond, cinnamon and cocoa cookies).
When it is Easter you eat Figolli (marzipan filled shapes, like bunnies, chicks, fish or butterflies) here and these pretty cookies we bake today!
How to bake 25 figolli
Mix flour, salt, lemon zest and butter to a crumbly dough.
Add the sugar and mix it into the dough crumbs.
Add the yolks and knead them in by hand.
Slowly add water until the dough is firm but manageable.
Knead the dough quickly by hand until it feels smooth.
Roll the dough into a ball and put it aside for now.
Put 1 tablespoon of egg white aside and preheat the oven to 175°C
Mix the sugar with the almond flour.
Stir in the orange blossom and egg whites.
Quickly knead the marzipan filling by hand.
Roll out the dough and cut out shapes.
Cut out in pairs, you need two shapes for each biscuit.
Spoon some almond paste in the middle.
Spread egg white on the edges, top with a second cookie.
Seal the cookies carefully so no filling can leak out of the sides.
Bake the biscuits in 20 minutes golden brown.
Allow the biscuits to cool completely.
Make icing by mixing icing sugar with water.
Stir a drop of food colouring into the icing.
Melt some chocolate pieces au bain marie if you like.
Divide the icing in little jars and make different colours.
Decorate the biscuits to your own taste and imagination.
Use icing, chocolate and sprinkles to decorate but no Easter eggs in July!
The kids have just as much fun decorating as they have eating the pretty bicuits!
L-Ikla t-Tajba! - The Right Meal! (?)