Nonna’s Easter Ginetti

The famous Italian cookie, the ginetti appears all year round. Nonna’s Easter Ginetti are crunchy and sweet.  You know it’s Easter when you see them on the table.  I remember making these with nonna and also with my mom.  I worked out the recipe and it took me a while because of the measurements.  Nonna made 40 of these at a time.  She would put a pile of flour on the table and make a well.  Then in went about a dozen eggs and a little salt. You can double or triple this recipe.

The kneading was the fun part.  I would help her mix and turn.  The dough was sticky, but pliable.  We always let it sit for a bit.  Then we made little ropes and pulled on them.  They would go into a pot of boiling water and when they came out, we cut around the ropes lengthwise.  It was an all day thing.  The best part was the icing and to this day I like to add a little bit of anise flavour to the icing.

To eat these just break them off into chunks. They are also good with a little Vin Santo or Marsala at the end of a meal.

Sometimes I use the food processor.  First beat the eggs and the salt.

Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time.  This dough is very sticky.

I turn it onto a floured counter and knead it.

Roll it into a ball and let it sit covered with a tea towel for about 10 minutes.

Cut into 4 equal pieces.

Make a ring and stretch it.

Ready for a quick boil.

Stretch them again before putting into the boiling water.

They come to the top and are ready.

Strain them and don’t worry if they look lumpy.

Place them on a tray.  Do not oil the tray.  Slice the ginetti lengthwise all around, but not all the way through.

See how they puff.

Cooling and waiting for the icing.

I like red and blue food colouring.  My mom leaves it white.

All sprinkled in red.

 

All sprinkled in blue.

Bunny loves these treats so much he fell over. LOL