Holiday Cookies - Anna's Occhi di Bue
It’s hard to believe the end of 2023 is fast approaching. Once Thanksgiving is over, it's a marathon at a sprint's pace until we are drinking eggnog and thinking about New Year's resolutions.
While this time of year is hectic and filled with an ever-growing To-Do list, I still find time to make lots and lots of holiday cookies. What started as a fun activity with my small children has grown into a massive undertaking of 20 varieties of our favorite cookies, packed into tins and given to our teachers, tutors, friends, and family.
My trick is to start the second week of December, making a different batch daily. I begin with cookies I can freeze like chocolate chip and end with the more delicate ones that go straight from the oven to the tin. Check out my Instagram @annafgass because I'll post a different cookie recipe, each day, for the next week.
In addition, my new book, Italian Snacking, out in March, explores the cookie culture in Italy. You see, I am the self-proclaimed cookie queen because I have been obsessed with cookies since I was a kid, as they each have a history and place of origin.
Here is my recipe for Occhi di Bue, an Italian cookie that means 'Ox Eye.' They were featured in New Canaan Bedford Magazine and are filled with chocolate or jam. It's the Italian version of the Linzer Cookie and cookie tin-worthy! I wish you all the happiest holidays and a prosperous and healthy new year. Buon natale e felice anno nuovo!!
ANNA”S OCCHI DI BUE
While the origins of this sandwich cookie are not certain, many believe it was created in northern Italy, as it closely resembles the Austrian Linzer cookie. The top cookie has a hole to reveal the filling and has also been given its name bue, which in Italian means ox; hence the cookie is a bullseye.
I enjoyed these cookies while vacationing in Rome, as I found them in every pastry shop I entered. The variety of jam fillings was endless, but I always grabbed the one with a thick layer of chocolate hazelnut spread. It’s a perfect complement to the hazelnut flour I added for nuttiness. I also added a garnish of sea salt in my version, which is not traditional but so delicious.
Active time: 45 minutes I Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup salted butter (226 grams), softened
1 1⁄2 cups confectioners’ sugar, (180 grams) plus more for topping 1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1⁄2 cup hazelnut flour (170 grams) or almond flour can be subbed 2 cups AP flour (272 grams), plus additional for dusting
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, for filling
Flaked sea salt, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
STEP 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
STEP 2
Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl, until the egg is just combined, another minute or so.
STEP 3
In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla extract, and coffee, beating until well combined.
STEP 4
Add the flours and spices and mix to combine completely.
STEP 5
Empty the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk, and wrap up the dough.
STEP 6
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it in half. Return one half to the fridge.
STEP 7
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1⁄4 inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. In half of the 2-inch circles, cut out a smaller circle in the center (or use a fun shape like a flower). Reroll the dough for another 16 cookies.
STEP 8
Place the cookies and the cut-outs onto the baking sheet and bake until very lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet and repeat the process with remaining dough.
STEP 9
Once cooled, place the chocolate hazelnut spread into a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip (Ateco #844) on the solid cookies. Lightly dust confectioners’ sugar on the top cookies with the cutout in the center.
STEP 10
Place the sugared cutout cookies on top of the solid cookies to create a sandwich cookie.
STEP 11
Sprinkle flaked salt on the chocolate hazelnut spread.
Buon Appetito!