Esse (lemon and vanilla shortbread biscuits) - Veneto
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These delicate, lemony biscuits are a hint that winter is over and Easter is on its way. They are deceptively robust so they actually are the perfect dipping biscuit to accompany tea, coffee or even hot chocolate. Dipped in chocolate, Esse biscuits transform into a decadent standalone treat.
Esse biscuits are traditionally made at home for Christmas and Easter and are dipped in sweet wine (vin santo) or even dry white wine. Today, these popular biscuits can be found in pastry shops. In Burano, an island in the Venetian lagoon, the Esse di Burano biscuits were traditionally made by the fishwives for their husbands to take to sea as they are long-lasting. My children love to make them and invariably they want the letter of their own name instead of the S.
Esse biscuits may also add 15 grams of baking powder (1 tablespoon) to the mixture with the flour, can also be flavoured with aniseed liqueur or rum and can served sprinkled with icing sugar. There is also a Jewish variation, bisse degli ebrei, which substitute olive oil for the butter.
Esse biscuits are traditionally made at home for Christmas and Easter and are dipped in sweet wine (vin santo) or even dry white wine. Today, these popular biscuits can be found in pastry shops. In Burano, an island in the Venetian lagoon, the Esse di Burano biscuits were traditionally made by the fishwives for their husbands to take to sea as they are long-lasting. My children love to make them and invariably they want the letter of their own name instead of the S.
Esse biscuits may also add 15 grams of baking powder (1 tablespoon) to the mixture with the flour, can also be flavoured with aniseed liqueur or rum and can served sprinkled with icing sugar. There is also a Jewish variation, bisse degli ebrei, which substitute olive oil for the butter.
Author: Woo Wei-Duan
Recipe type: Dessert (Dolci)
Cuisine: Veneto
Serves: 12 biscuits
Ingredients
- 150 grams icing sugar
- 150 gramebutter, room temperature
- ½ unwaxed lemon, rinsed and zested
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 300 grams 00 flour
- Optional: tempered chocolatefor dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat together the sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla until fluffy and has lightened in colour.
- Add the eggs, one at at time, mixing well in between.
- Add the flour and mix to combine. Be careful not to overmix after adding the flour as you don't want gluten strands to form and toughen the biscuit.
- Place the mixture into a piping bag with a large, fluted tip and place the refrigerator to firm up a bit. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe out the biscuits into "S" shapes on the parchment.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool.
- Serve as is or dip in tempered chocolate and let the chocolate solidify before serving.
