Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies)

Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies). Filled with jam or chocolate hazelnut spread these Sardinian sandwich cookies are beloved by adults and children alike. They are excellent to accompany breakfast but also to eat as a snack or as a dessert at the end of a meal. The traditional shape is that with a double flower but they are also cute in a double star shape.

Song of the day: It's Time - Imagine Dragons

Is there anything better than a buttery shortbread cookie? Oh yes, a sandwich cookie with a luxurious chocolate hazelnut filling, some icing sugar on top, and a cute flower shape.

 

 

The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange

The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange is celebrating its eighth year of spreading holiday goodness! It's a few years, now, that I am invited to contribute with a cookie recipe to the #sweetestseasoncookies virtual exchange. Cookies = love and the holiday season is all about sharing and spreading love, so a group of talented bloggers gets together and shares their most delectable and beautiful cookies. Last year I shared my Orange and Chocolate Star Cookies, the year before, Abbracci Cookies.

Inspiration for these Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies)

This year inspiration struck during our summer holiday in Sardinia, the beautiful island off the coast of Italy. These typical flower-shaped cookies that you see in the first picture below, accompanied us through our vacation (the second picture is of the house we were staying, overlooking the sea). Once we discovered Ciambelline Sarde at a local bakery, we kept going back to buy more. They were enjoyed at breakfast and also after lunch with an espresso. Crumbly, buttery, with a delicious chocolate filling, they were a pleasure to the eye and the palate.

Making Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies) at home

Once back home, I was eager to recreate the experience. Of course, I missed the ambiance: our friends, the seaside, the warm weather and relaxation of the holiday. Nonetheless, I knew that these cookies could bring back all the emotions. As for most Italian recipes, there are as many recipes as there are cooks. After thorough research online, I set on the recipe that I am sharing with you.

What you need (to make a lot of cookies)

• 500 g flour
• 2 large eggs
• the zest of 1 small orange (or lemon)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150 g sugar
• 90 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 90 g vegetable shortening
• 10 g baking powder

The short pastry

The Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies) have a beautiful short pastry that I made with a combination of butter and vegetable shortening. Many recipes list lard as the fat of choice, you can choose to use all butter, as you wish. The short pastry has a citrus flavor, like many Italian cookies, and a touch of vanilla. I chose orange, but lemon would do, too. 

Rolling and cutting

There's a lot of rolling and cutting involved. I decided to use half dough at a time and divide the preparation in two days. The dough can rest in the fridge overnight, you just need to take it out of the fridge about 10 minutes earlier, to bring it to room temperature before rolling. As for the flower shape, the original cookies have 8 petals but I could only find a 6-petal cookie cutter, which works just as fine. The sizes are 3.5 inches (8 cm) for the bigger/bottom cookies and 2.5 inches (6 cm) for the smaller/top cookies. The top cookies have a hole in the center which I did with a piping nozzle.

Because the Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies) are quite thick, you need to roll the dough to a height of about 4-5 mm (½ cm).

Baking the Flowers

The baking part is as important as the making. As a matter of fact, you have to watch the cookies carefully as they bake, since you don't want to overbake them. They will tend to harden and get crispier if kept too long in the oven. 

The Flavors

The short pastry is buttery and crumbly and with a lovely orange and vanilla fragrance that marries well with the chocolate hazelnut spread. The cookies are not too sweet, as most of my baking. I used a good quality chocolate hazelnut spread as the filling, you can also use jam as I did in these cookies here and here. And you can dust just the top with icing sugar, or dust the finished sandwich cookies.

The prettiest cookies!

I might be partial, but aren't these the prettiest cookies of all?

Since cookies for breakfast is typically Italian, I would suggest you try these Ciambelline Sarde (Sardinian Sandwich Cookies) with your morning coffee, tea, or cappuccino. You won't regret it, lol. Besides, they are perfect as a snack, for your tea time with friends, or dessert. They would also make a beautiful edible gift this holiday season. I know our family, friends, and neighbors enjoyed them a lot when we delivered some to them.

Have fun in the kitchen, and enjoy!

Song of the day: It's Time - Imagine Dragons

Print