Ligurian Canestrelli – Italian Lemon Shortbreads

Ligurian Canestrelli – or Italian Lemon Shortbreads – are the crumbliest, most tender shortbreads you will ever make. 

If I tell you that this recipe begins with boiling half a dozen eggs, you might think I’ve taken leave of my senses… But stick with me here. This recipe is an absolute gift!

You see, when I went on holiday last summer to Italy, I tasted one of the most delicious shortbread biscuits I have ever had. Not overly sweet, and subtly scented with lemon, these biscuits were heavenly alongside a cup of deeply dark espresso coffee. They were so moreish, I bought a box in the local Carrefour Express supermarket to smuggle home inside my suitcase.

As with the peanut butter morsels I brought back from America a few years ago, I resisted opening the packet for as long as possible – wanting to keep an edible memento of summer sunshine within reach to see me through the dark autumnal months.  Unlike the peanut butter morsels which languished forgotten in my baking cupboard until they were past their best, the Ligurian Canestrelli biscuits lasted just under a week before the box was torn open and they were eagerly devoured.

Cut off from my ready supply, I had to research my own recipe. With the aid of google translate, I deciphered the ingredients from the back of the packet. Further internet searches confirmed that the translation was indeed correct and that the recipe required hard boiled egg yolks. Now, I was initially sceptical about this but after extensive testing, I can indeed confirm that this method works. The hard yolks, pureed by passing through a sieve, provide sufficient moisture to help bring the dough together without resulting in a wet mix. The proof is in the eating and the fact that I have made a batch of these biscuits every month since I returned from holiday should tell you that they have become a firm family favourite.

Canestrelli biscuits traditionally take the shape of an eight-petal flower with a hole in the middle. When I was testing this recipe, I used a fluted pastry cutter before stamping out a central hole with a piping nozzle. However, I have now invested in the correct implement, conveniently sourced from Amazon.

Italians like to bake with potato starch flour. I manage to buy this online, but you can substitute with cornflour if you struggle to get hold of some yourself. I’ve made the biscuits both ways and there is little difference in the end result.

Ligurian Canestrelli – Italian Lemon Shortbreads

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• Author: Tom
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 40–50 1x

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Description

Ligurian Canestrelli – or Italian Lemon Shortbreads – are the crumbliest, most tender shortbreads you will ever make.

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Ingredients

• 300g 00 flour
• 200g potato starch flour (or cornflour)
• 6 x hard boiled yolks
• 150g icing sugar
• 300g cold, unsalted butter
• 2 Lemons – finely grated zest
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

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Instructions

1. Put 6 eggs into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Bubble away for around ten minutes before removing from the heat and transferring the eggs to a bowl of cold water.
2. While the eggs are cooling, measure the dry ingredients into the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Finely grate the zest of two lemons before cubing in the cold butter. Start on a slow speed before turning up high to bring together. Turn off the mixer while you deal with the eggs.
3. Peel the cooled eggs and remove the yolks from the hard whites. Pass the yolks through a metal sieve or tea strainer to make a soft, pillowy mound of fine yolk. Tip this into the flour mix alongside the vanilla extract and switch the food mixer back on. Beat on a medium speed until the dough starts to clump together.
4. Mould the dough into a flat disc and wrap in greaseproof paper. Place in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
6. Roll the dough out between two sheets of greaseproof paper until it is as deep as a £1 coin (about 1cm). Use your cutter of choice to stamp out the biscuits before carefully lifting them onto a lined baking sheet. Bring any off-cuts of dough back together and roll out again until everything is used up (you will probably need to return the dough to the fridge for a short time if it becomes too soft to handle).
7. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The tops of the biscuits should be pale yet starting to turn lightly golden. Cool on a rack before giving a heavy dusting of icing sugar. Store in an airtight container where they will keep for several weeks – if they last that long!

• Category: Baking, Biscuits
• Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: Biscuits, Canestrelli, Cookies, European Food, Italian, Italian Lemon Shortbreads, Italy, Lemon Shortbread, Liguria, Ligurian Canestrelli, Teatime Treats