Let’s rediscover an ancient tradition

On Easter Day, we are used to eating colomba, but this year we want to return to an ancient tradition from Abruzzo and the surrounding regions: that of the girl-shaped cookie and the horse-shaped cookie. Two large cookies made with olive oil shortcrust pastry and decorated with cocoa and colored sprinkles. Before baking, an egg is placed in the center of each cookie and secured with two strips of dough, a sign of rebirth, fertility, and good wishes for the future.
This is a very easy, affordable, and wholesome recipe rooted in the simple reality of rural areas, where people managed to celebrate with the little they had and enjoyed creating “delicious” masterpieces.
These treats were usually prepared on Holy Thursday, with the little ones also taking part and enjoying decorating them. On Easter Sunday, the girl-shaped cookies were given to girls and the horse-shaped cookies to boys.
Finding time during Holy Week to prepare an easy dessert with or for loved ones can be a way to reclaim gestures that express love, care, and dedication, while slowing down the pace of daily life to savor the beauty of living at a more human pace.

Now, let’s get our hands in the dough!

Ingredients (for one girl-shaped cookie and one horse-shaped cookie)

• 1 kg type 00 flour + enough for working the dough
• 400 g sugar
• 8 whole medium eggs
• 1 sachet of baking powder
• grated zest of one lemon
• 300 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 medium eggs for decoration
• 1 egg yolk (to secure the decorations)
• sprinkles, sugar pearls, chocolate chips, and anything else you want to use for decoration

Method

1. Soak the 2 eggs for decoration in fresh water.
2. Pour the flour into a very large bowl, add the eggs and olive oil, and begin kneading with your hands.
3. Immediately afterward, add the sugar, grated lemon zest, and baking powder.
4. Flour a pastry board and continue working the dough, adding a little flour at a time as needed to obtain an elastic dough that does not stick to your hands.
5. Let it rest for 10/15 minutes, then divide it into two equal parts.
6. Still working on a floured surface, begin rolling out the base to a thickness of about 5 mm.
7. Transfer it to a very large baking tray lined with parchment paper and, using your imagination, start shaping the “doll” by scoring the base with a pointed knife.
8. Create the various decorations, such as hair, breasts, arms, shoes…
9. Further decorate with sprinkles and colorful pralines. Place the egg in the center (it should not be dried, but only drained of excess water; this way it will remain intact in the oven), secure it with strips of dough, and fix it in place with the help of the egg yolk.
10. Continue with the same process to make the horse as well.
11. The doll and the horse must bake in a preheated oven at 180° for about 20/25 minutes (the cookie should remain light; it must not darken and become dry.