Nun’s Cookies

Nun’s cookies are simple and traditional small sweets, also known as “shortbread cookies” or “butter biscuits”. Here’s a classic recipe that you can try at home.

Ingredients

• 300 g of all-purpose flour
• 200 g of room temperature butter
• 100 g of powdered sugar
• 1 whole egg
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 pinch of salt
• Granulated sugar as needed for decoration

Preparation

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, put the soft butter and powdered sugar. Work the two ingredients together until you get a homogeneous and fluffy mixture.
2. Add the egg and grated lemon zest, continuing to mix.
3. Add the sifted flour and pinch of salt to the mixture, and work everything until you get a smooth and compact dough. If necessary, transfer the dough to a pastry board and briefly work it with your hands.
4. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
6. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 5 mm thick.
7. With a cutter of the desired shape (can be round, heart, star, etc.), cut out the cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Sprinkle the cookies with granulated sugar.
9. Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown at the edges.
10. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Curiosity

Nun’s cookies get their name from their traditional preparation in convents, where these simple and delicious sweets were made with poor and easily available ingredients. They are ideal accompanied by a good tea or coffee, or to be dunked in milk.