Ingredients
EGG
4
BUTTER
250 gr
STARCH
200 gr
FLOUR
200 gr
POWDERED SUGAR
120 gr
VANILLA EXTRACT
1 Teaspoon
SALE
1 pinch
FOR DECORATION
POWDERED SUGAR
Stresa daisies are biscuits made with a very meltable shortcrust pastry based on butter, icing sugar and hard-boiled egg yolks: this last ingredient, in particular, makes the pastry exceptionally crumbly and delicious. Typical of Stresa, a small Piedmontese village, they were made for the first time in 1857 by the pastry chef Pietro Antonio Bolongaro , on the occasion of Princess Margherita ‘s first communion . These biscuits were so appreciated that they later became the typical dessert of the House of Savoy for the August holiday. Packaged in the shape of a daisy, but also round for a more contemporary version, they are perfect as a delicious gift or to delight homemade breakfasts and snacks .
How to prepare Stresa daisies
Step 1
Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water and cook for 8 minutes starting from the boil; once cooked, drain and shell them
1
.
Step 2
Obtain the yolks from the boiled eggs, collect them in a bowl and mash them with a fork
2
.
Step 3
In a bowl mix the flours with the sugar, salt and vanilla; add the diced butter and the crushed egg yolks and start kneading
3
.
Step 4
Transfer the dough to a work surface and continue working until you obtain a firm and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in cling film
4
and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Step 5
After the resting time, roll out the dough into a sheet about 5 mm thick using a rolling pin.
5
.
Step 6
Make lots of daisies with a special mold
6
.
Step 7
At this point, use a smaller circle-shaped stencil to create the centre
7
.
Step 8
Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with baking paper
8
, and place in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes. Bake the biscuits in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes, until they are lightly golden.
Step 9
Remove the biscuits from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack, then sprinkle them with plenty of icing sugar and serve.
9
.
Advice
With this mixture you will get around 80 daisies in total . The dough of these biscuits is similar to that of ovis mollis , biscuits so crumbly and delicious that they will melt in your mouth.
The trick to making these biscuits perfectly is to leave them in the fridge for at least an hour after shaping them, so that the pastry can stabilize properly.
You can decide to give it the typical daisy shape using a special biscuit cutter or, if you don’t have one, you can also make many round disks with an upturned glass; alternatively you can package them in the shape of a little heart or star, always using a special pastry cutter.
These biscuits are perfect both for breakfast , dipped in a cup of cappuccino , and as a snack , accompanied by a good infusion. If you love classic tea biscuits, try these with butter .
storage
Stresa daisies can be stored in a special tin container or under a glass bell jar for at least 6-7 days .
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