Photo courtesy of Gina DePalma, Pastry Chef

Befanini
By Gina DePalma, Pastry Chef

I adore the way Italians extend the loveliest and most enjoyable parts of the Christmas season well into January. Two weeks after the New Year, you can still find the presepe, or nativity scene, displayed in church, Christmas trees linger in the piazzas and twinkling lights continue to canopy narrow, cobbled streets. Children get the luckiest bit of extra holiday cheer on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany. On the eve of this special day, La Befana is said to fly through the air on her broom, leaving little gifts and tokens for good children - or lumps of coal for the naughty.

If you have never heard of La Befana, you may have already seen her. The “Christmas Witch” of Italy is usually shown as a grizzled old woman, wearing a kerchief and apron, carrying or riding a broom. There are a number of legends surrounding her, the most popular being that every year on the night of January 5 th, La Befana embarks on a search to find the Christ Child, adopting all the children of world along the way by visiting them with gifts of clothes and toys. The stories and even the mode of transport vary from one Italian region to another, as do the special sweets made in Befana’s honor.

In Tuscany, festive cookies called Befanini are made to celebrate Epiphany and La Befana’s arrival. They are usually flavored with anise and shaped like the moon and stars that keep Befana company on her journey through the night sky. I love my version of these crisp cookies, spiked with anisette and orange zest, glazed and adorned with multicolored sprinkles. They are excellent with a cup of steaming hot chocolate, which you will surely need if you keep the windows cracked for La Befana.

La Befana’s Stars (Befanini)

Adapted from Dolce Italiano: Desserts from The Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma 

For the Cookies:
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Anisette
Freshly grated zest of 1 small orange or tangerine

For the Glaze:
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Multicolored sprinkles

To make the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

The in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until creamy and light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract, anisette and orange zest. Beat in the dry ingredients on low speed to form a stiff dough. Remove the dough from the bowl, flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic and chill until it is firm enough to roll.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or butter and line them with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces; work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining pieces refrigerated. On a floured surface, roll the dough 1/8 of an inch thick. Using a floured, star shaped cookie cutter, cut the dough into star shapes; moons work well too. Place the cookies ½ an inch apart on the baking sheets. Gather the scraps together and repeat rolling and cutting until you have used all the scraps; it may be necessary to refrigerate the scraps until they are firm enough to roll again.

To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the cream. Using a small pastry brush, lightly brush the surface of the cookies with a bit of glaze and decorate them with the sprinkles.

Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets 180 degrees halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheets, then gently remove them with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the process with the remaining dough until all the cookies are baked.

The cookies may be stored in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment paper, for up to 4 days.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

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