Jun 14, 2010

Frollini, Italian shortbread cookie recipe

I love it when you dunk a cookie in a hot cup of tea or a chilled glass of milk and just as you’re bringing it to your mouth for a sensual devouring kiss, it drops messily back in the liquid, attracted more by love for the beverage, than gravity pull. 

frollini, shortbread cookie recipe

This happens especially with those shortbread-like, buttery cookies commonly called frollini in Italian.  Ignoring the disastrous milk-spattered battleground around my mug, I fish the sunken frollini out with my spoon. They are completely reduced to a mushy, almost liquid state. The smaller crumbs that swim effortlessly at the bottom of my cup, swirl back into my mouth, as I drink the last sweet drops of the cloudy cookie soup.

I usually make my frollini in the evening, letting them cool overnight so I can eat them first thing in the morning–paired in twos–in a back-to-back dive in my steaming pint of breakfast caffelatte. This makes a large batch.

500 g (1.1 lb) all purpose flour
180 g (1 scant cup) sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) butter (I use salted)
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp. whole milk, warmed
2 tbsp. organic honey
1 tsp. baking powder
Salt (if your butter is unsalted)


Preheat oven at 180° C (356° F).

Work the butter and sugar with a fork into a frothy fluff. Add the beaten egg, the honey and a pinch of salt, mixing with your fingers.

Dissolve the baking powder in the warmed milk, sift in the flour and add it all to the mixture, kneading gently into a smooth ball.

Flatten with a rolling pin to 1/8-inch and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. 
Sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a buttered cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes.

It's dark outside and it smells wonderful in the kitchen.

frollini, shortbread cookie recipe

12 comments:

  1. Lola, I enjoy as always your creative writing! I love fishing for cookies in my milk!

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  2. Interesting to see a cookie recipe that calls for yeast. I must admit, I'm too lazy to roll out cookie dough; I prefer to drop it by teaspoonfuls and flatten each ball with a fork. But yum, cookies for breakfast! That would get me up early (not having a 4 year old in the house, I need an extra push).

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  3. What a great way to start the day. Just two though? I don't think I could stop at two.

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  4. Poetically written and artfully accomplished, Eleanora!

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  5. Your frollini look great. Are those little purse cookies made with the frollini dough?

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  6. They sound delicious. I wish I had one or maybe two right now :-)

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  7. cookies and milk...mmm...just in time for my afternoon snack. smiles.

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  8. cute frollini bags in the image! who has time to do that?

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  9. I love shortbread cookies, in any shape. My preference would be to eat them at night, with a small glass of milk. And the "purses" are so adorable!

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  10. That's neat! At first, I said to myself, "Why all the purses on a post about cookies?", but then I saw that they WERE cookies. Cool.

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  11. CChuck~ Isn't it the best?
    Louciao~ Butter and yeast make these the porous, absorban and crumbly delights that they are!
    LoriE~ I meant I eat them in pairs, PLURAL! ;)
    Joe~ Thank you!
    CCLinda~ It looks like they're made with gingerbread...
    Theresa~ Have a dozen and let's call it quits.
    Brian~ Perfect!
    Saretta~ Only Eleni in NY!
    Lana~ Aren't they? Night milk&cookies is great...
    Jim~ ha ha, got you!

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  12. Thanks for this easy recipe. Will try in near future!!

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