Befanini, Tuscan Christmas Cookies

Befanini are Tuscan Christmas Cookies made to celebrate the legend of La Befana. A simple yet good buttery cookie dough flavoured with rum and vanilla, cut out into cute shapes and topped with festive sprinkles.

La Befana is an Italian Christmas Witch that flies through the night on the 5th of January filling children's stockings full of good sweets and candy and delivering coal to the naughty ones.

The 6th of January (Epiphany) marks the end of the Italian Christmas festivities and celebrations so these cookies are the solid way to mark the end (or keep the good times rolling in our opinion).

In Tuscany, you'll often see Befanini cookies in Pasticcierie (bakeries) at this time of year but often, families will make their own with their children because they're so fun and easy to make not to mention good!

Befanini cookies are made with a traditional Pasta Frolla base (buttery pastry) which is flavoured with lemon zest, rum and vanilla.

You can use any Christmas cookie cutters you like for these. We love using Christmas stockings to represent La Befana, Christmas trees and snowflakes.

See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Flour – we use Italian 00 flour but you could also use all-purpose flour.
• Baking powder – make sure your baking powder hasn't expired (a common cause of baking fails for those who don't use it often).
• Sugar – we use caster sugar which we do recommend buying if you can. Alternatively, you can use granulated.
• Unsalted butter – it's important that your butter is cold straight from the fridge.
• Vanilla – use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. You can also use the seeds from one vanilla pod.
• Lemon zest – use unwaxed lemons since we're using the rind. You can use orange zest instead.

Step by step photos and instructions

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs (photos 1 and 2).

Next, add the egg, rum, vanilla and lemon zest and blitz until it forms a dough (photos 3 and 4).

Remove from the processor and form into a ball then flatten it and wrap it in plastic wrap (cling film). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (photos 5 and 6).

Once chilled, remove from the fridge and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to soften slightly (don't let it sit for any longer than 10 minutes). Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the dough to ⅛ inch or 1/2cm thick (photos 7 and 8).

Cut out cookies and place them on a lined baking tray. Refrigerate for half an hour before baking. Any scrap dough can be kneaded back into a ball and rolled out into more cookies (photos 9 and 10).

Pre-heat the static oven to 180C (350F). Lightly whisk an egg white for a couple of seconds and brush it over the top of the cookies then top with sprinkles (photos 11 and 12).

Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. They should be pale and not browned. Let the cookies cool before removing from the tray so they firm up.

Recipe tips

• Chill the cookie dough twice – you need to chill the dough before rolling it out or it'll be too sticky to work with. You also need to chill the cookies before baking so they don't shrink.
• Flavouring the dough – you can use orange zest instead of lemon or leave it out altogether.
• Skipping the rum – if you don't want to add rum you can leave it out (no need to add extra liquid).
• Storage and freezing – the cookies will keep well for 5-7 days in a sealed container or can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Christmas

Ice Cream Stuffed Mini Panettone (Cherry and Chocolate)

Italian Cookies

Italian Butter Cookies (Pasta Frolla Montata)

Italian Cookies

Cuccidati (Italian Fig Cookies)

Italian Desserts

Panforte – Tuscan Fruit and Nut Cake

Ingredients

Makes 30 cookies

• 2 cups Italian 00 flour ((250g) can also use all-purpose flour)
• ½ cup caster sugar ((80g))
• 8.5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cubed (120g))
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 medium egg
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 pinch of salt

Topping

• 1 egg white
• sprinkles

Equipment

• christmas cookie cutters

Method

1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs.

2. Next, add the egg, rum, vanilla and lemon zest and blitz until it forms a dough.

3. Remove from the processor and form into a ball then flatten it and wrap it in plastic wrap (cling film). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to soften slightly (don't let it sit for any longer than 10 minutes). Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the dough to ⅛ inch or 1/2cm thick.

5. Cut out cookies and place them on a lined baking tray. Refrigerate for half an hour before baking. Any scrap dough can be kneaded back into a ball and rolled out into more cookies.

6. Pre-heat the static oven to 180C (350F). Lightly whisk an egg white for a couple of seconds and brush it over the top of the cookies then top with sprinkles. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. They should be pale and not browned.

7. Let the cookies cool before removing from the tray so they firm up.

Kitchen notes

1. 1. Chill the cookie dough twice you need to chill the dough before rolling it out or it'll be too sticky to work with. You also need to chill the cookies before baking so they don't shrink.
   2. Flavouring the dough you can use orange zest instead of lemon or leave it out altogether.
   3. Skipping the rum if you don't want to add rum you can leave it out (no need to add extra liquid).
   4. Storage and freezing the cookies will keep well for 5-7 days in a sealed container or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
   5. Serving may make more cookies depending on size and amount of off-cuts used.