These Italian Easter cookies with eggs in the middle are a tradition in the southern regions of Italy. They are called Cuzzupe, Cudduraci or Cucupi, and they are usually eaten at the end of Lent fasting. Very easy to make, they have a sweet vanillin aroma, a crisp and crumbly texture and an egg trapped inside. They can be made in different fun shapes, the perfect baking project for children.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Bake them
How to eat them
More Italian Easter desserts
More Easter recipes
📋Italian Easter Cookies

These Italian Easter cookies are originally from the Southern part of Italy and every region has its name: cuddura, cuddhura, cuddurace, sguta, cuzzupa. The name cuddura comes from the antic greek Kollyra meaning loaf.

The whole eggs are placed on top of the cookie, and they are the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those eggs are raw and will cook in the oven with the biscuits. A tradition is to shape these biscuits in the classic doughnut shape and put many eggs on them based on who you want to give them to.

For example, if you want to donate to your boyfriend, you should put seven eggs on it, and the Calabrian saying reads: "Setta ma setta". You are giving hope to your boyfriend that he can officially present himself to the family.

In addition to the doughnut shape, these cookies can be prepared in various forms that recall Easter symbols: braid, cross, twist, bow, or ribbon. They are easy and fun to make, a perfect project to do with the children,

Ingredients

These Italian Easter cookies are made with a sweet shortcrust pastry.

The pastry dough is very simple to make and requires the usual baking ingredients you always find in your kitchen:

butter at room temperature,
flour
sugar
eggs
baking powder
flavoring: you can use whatever you like. I used orange zest in this recipe, but you can also use lemon zest, vanilla, almond extract, and orange water blossom.

Find the exact quantities in the recipe card.

The dough is very malleable, and it doesn't stick to your hand, which is why it is so fun to use with children.

Instructions

The dough is very simple to make:

Mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer
Shape the dough into a large ball
Use a piece of dough to make different shapes

Hint: the butter should be at room temperature, NOT melted

Here some of the shapes you can make:

Bake them

Place the cookies on parchment paper in a baking dish
Brush the top with one eggwash
Sprinkle with colored sugar sprinkles
Bake for 35 minutes at 355 F - 180 C

How to eat them

Once cooked, these Italian Easter cookies can be stored in an airtight container, lasting for a week. You can brake a piece and eat it with a piece of chocolate, a great combination.

The raw egg placed over the pastry for decoration cooks with the biscuits in the oven; therefore, you can just peel it and eat it like a boiled egg. In Italy, we eat it with salami and cheese bread (next article).

They are perfect for bringing to your Easter Monday picnic.

More Italian Easter desserts

Italians eat many classic desserts at Easter; besides these cookies, the most renowned is the Pastiera: a ricotta pie made with wheat and ricotta. Also, a classic is the Colomba, similar to panettone but baked in the shape of a dove. We usually buy it already made as it requires sourdough yeast and is too time-consuming to make.

Mostly we eat a lot of chocolate, so if you want to try some chocolate recipes, here are some:

To finish the meal, you cannot miss a special homemade chocolate liqueur, recipe from Perugia.

More Easter recipes

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