Sweet Taralle
Auntie Jo, Philomena, Aunt Dolly early 1990s
What’s a Taralle !? In our family we called these large ring shaped biscuits taralle. They can be sweet ( my favorite) or savory. The sweet has a a nice drizzle of lemon confectioners icing, and the savory is spiked with a hefty dose of black pepper and salt.
Many other American-Italian families I know call smaller ring shaped biscuits, mostly savory, taralli. There is also the slang reference, which can be fun…”be nice or I’ll give you a taralle”. This usually means a little tap on the head.
One day, sometime in the 90s, I hosted a fantastic taralle making session at the bakery. I think this was around the same time I was working on Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray Cookbook. I wanted to include the sweet version of what we call “taralle” in the cookbook. Although not technically a “cookie” these ring shaped biscuits were constantly served at all our basement parties and holidays. This original recipe is probably Philomena’s so she was happy to show me, my aunts and my Mom how to make them.
If I knew I was going to write a few more cookbooks, I probably would have saved this recipe for another. With my first cookbook I wanted to include everything and everyone and that had shaped my adult life.
These biscuits are nothing special, very simple with a drizzle of lemon confectioners icing. They are boiled first, then baked. If you like a dry biscuit, very suitable for dunking, either in some marsala or espresso, this is the perfect snack for you.
Original headnote from Sweet Maria’s Italian Cookie Tray, page 97
These are a sweet version of the large ring-shaped biscuits. They looked so impressive when I was a child, all drenched in icing and piled high like a pyramid!
When I was growing up, our family lived in houses next to each other, with one large common backyard. I’ll always remember Gemma carrying huge piles of sweet taralle from house to house. And she never dropped one!
Recipe Renovation: There isn’t much on the renovation, this recipe is pretty straightforward . I did add some lemon oil to the dough for more lemon flavor in addition to the icing. It’s just nice to share it again and think about making taralle with these lovely ladies. I did try to make them smaller, more individual portioned but they are really much better in this larger size, and fun to break and share!
SWEET TARALLI
TARALLI DOLCI
Makes 8
6 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
3- 31/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, oil, sugar and lemon oil until well blended. Stir in 3 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead to make a soft dough. If dough is too sticky, add additional flour.
Divide dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each into a cylinder about 1-inch thick and 8-inches long. Form into a ring, pressing the dough together firmly to attach.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Drop the taralle into the boiling water, 2 or 3 at a time. When they float to the top, turn over and boil uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water and drain on paper towels.
Place each taralle directly on the oven shelf ( or a cookie sheet). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, drizzle with lemon confectioners icing.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
CONFECTIONERS ICING
6 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
With an electric mixer, beat all ingredients until smooth. For thicker icing, add more sugar, for thinner icing, add more water.
Sweet Taralle