Sardinian Raisin, Almond and Walnut Cookies | Papassinos
Papassinos are the festive cookies of Sardinia: small diamonds of tender, crumbly pastry packed with raisins, toasted almonds and walnuts, scented with orange and lemon, and finished with a bright white sugar glaze and a scattering of tiny colored sprinkles. They take their name from the raisins, and they appear on Sardinian tables in the days of All Saints and All Souls, at Christmas and at every family celebration. This version keeps the island recipe, with lard in the dough as Sardinian grandmothers make it, and gives it pastry kitchen precision: a short, even crumb, nuts toasted for depth, and a glaze that sets smooth and glossy.
Yield: about 40 cookies (20 servings of 2). Prep: 45 minutes. Cook: 18 minutes. Rest: 1 hour for the dough, plus 2 hours for the glaze. Course: dessert, cookie or with coffee. Region: Sardinia.
The Story
The name papassinos comes from pàpassa, the Sardinian word for raisin, and the raisins are the heart of the cookie. In Sardinia, where vines grow almost everywhere, families once dried part of the grape harvest in the late summer sun, and those raisins, together with the almonds and walnuts of the island, were the sweetness of the winter. The cookies that gathered them became one of the most widespread sweets of the island, made in the south and in the north, in the towns and in the mountain villages, with countless small variations.
Papassinos are tied above all to the beginning of November. In many Sardinian villages the eve of All Souls, when the dead are remembered, is a night of old customs: children go from door to door to ask for something for the souls, and families give them dried fruit, nuts and sweets, among which papassinos have a place of honor. The same cookies then return at Christmas, at Easter and at weddings and baptisms, so that for many Sardinians their taste is simply the taste of a holiday.
Every area has its own version. Some families use only almonds, others only walnuts, many both. In parts of the island the dough is darkened and sweetened with sapa, the cooked grape must of Sardinian kitchens, to make a darker cookie; elsewhere, as in this recipe, the cookies are white, covered with a glaze of egg white and sugar and dotted with the colored sprinkles that the Sardinians call traggera. The shape also changes, but the most common is the diamond, cut by hand from a slab of dough.
The dough is a pasta frolla in the old style, made with lard, the fat of the island's farmhouses, which gives a short, crumbly texture and a clean flavor that lets the raisins and nuts speak. Sardinian families bake papassinos in large batches, stored in tins and shared with neighbors. This recipe follows that tradition and adds precise weights, the right amount of leavening for an even crumb, and a glaze made safe with pasteurized egg white, so every cookie looks as good as it tastes.
Ingredients
Use good leaf lard or a fresh, mild lard from a butcher, not the hydrogenated shelf-stable kind, which tastes flat and has a waxy texture; if you prefer, replace it with the same weight of unsalted butter, but the cookie will be less crumbly and the recipe is then also free of pork. Choose plump, soft raisins, dark or golden, and fresh nuts. Baker's ammonia, the traditional leavening of many Italian cookies, is sold in specialty baking stores; it gives a very light, crisp crumb and its smell disappears completely in the oven. For the glaze use pasteurized egg white, sold in cartons, because it is not cooked enough in the oven to be safe raw.
For the dough
All-purpose flour, 4 cups (500 g)
Granulated sugar, 1 cup (200 g)
Lard, at cool room temperature, 3/4 cup (150 g)
Large eggs, 3 (150 g)
Raisins, 1 cup (150 g)
Whole almonds, blanched or unblanched, 3/4 cup (120 g)
Walnut halves, 3/4 cup (80 g)
Unwaxed orange, finely grated zest of 1
Unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest of 1
Baker's ammonia, 1 tsp (5 g), or baking powder, 2 tsp (8 g)
Whole milk, 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 ml), only if needed
Fine sea salt, 1/4 tsp (1.5 g)
For the glaze and the finish
Pasteurized egg white, 1 large (about 35 g)
Powdered sugar, sifted, 2 cups (250 g)
Fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp (5 ml)
Colored nonpareil sprinkles (traggera), 3 tbsp (35 g)
Preparation
Step 1
Toast the nuts and plump the raisins. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Toast the almonds for 8 to 10 minutes and the walnuts for 6 to 8 minutes on separate sheets, until fragrant and lightly golden inside. Let them cool, then chop them coarsely, into pieces about the size of a lentil. Cover the raisins with warm water for 10 minutes, drain them and dry them very well in a towel. Plump raisins stay soft in the baked cookie, while dry ones pull moisture from the dough and burn on the surface; drying them afterwards prevents wet spots in the crumb.
Step 2
Cream the lard and sugar. In a stand mixer with the paddle, or by hand, beat the lard with the sugar, the orange and lemon zest and the salt at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each is absorbed. The lard must be cool but soft, about 65°F (18°C): too cold and it does not take in air, too warm and the dough turns greasy and spreads in the oven.
Step 3
Form the dough. Dissolve the baker's ammonia in 1 tbsp (15 ml) of milk, or sift the baking powder with the flour. Add the leavening, then the flour in two additions, mixing at low speed only until the dough comes together. Add the raisins, the almonds and the walnuts and mix briefly with your hands until they are evenly distributed. The dough should be soft and compact, not sticky; if it is crumbly, add milk a teaspoon at a time. Overworking develops gluten, and a papassino should be short and tender, not chewy.
Step 4
Rest the dough. Flatten the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, wrap it and refrigerate it for 1 hour. Chilling firms the lard so the dough can be rolled cleanly around the nuts and raisins, and it lets the flour hydrate evenly, which reduces shrinking and spreading in the oven.
Step 5
Roll and cut the diamonds. Lower the oven to 340°F (170°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment to an even 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick; two wooden guides on either side of the dough make the thickness exact. With a sharp knife, cut parallel strips 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) wide, then cut across them on the diagonal at the same width to form diamonds. Lift them with a thin spatula and set them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the sheets. Gather the scraps once, press them together, roll and cut again.
Step 6
Bake. Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden at the base and on the edges and the tops are pale gold and dry. A cookie lifted from the sheet should have an even golden underside, with no dark spots. Let them cool on a rack completely, about 30 minutes. If you used baker's ammonia, make sure they are fully baked: the leavening releases ammonia gas that leaves only when the cookie is dry inside, which is why it is used only in thin, dry-baked cookies like these.
Step 7
Glaze and decorate. Whisk the pasteurized egg white with the lemon juice until frothy, then add the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time, beating until the glaze is smooth, glossy and as thick as heavy cream; a ribbon falling from the whisk should disappear into the surface in about 10 seconds. Dip the top of each cold cookie into the glaze, or spread it with a small offset spatula, letting the excess drip back. Scatter the sprinkles at once, while the glaze is wet. Let the glaze dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or set the cookies in a 175°F (80°C) oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes to speed the drying.
Plating
Papassinos are served at room temperature, piled on a tray or arranged in a small pyramid on a white plate, so the white glaze and the colored sprinkles catch the light. For a holiday table, mix them with other Sardinian sweets such as almond pastries and amaretti, as Sardinian families do on feast days.
For a plated dessert, set three papassinos on a plate beside a small glass of Malvasia di Bosa and a spoon of mascarpone whipped with a little orange zest and honey. Add a few fresh grapes or segments of orange: the fresh fruit brings the brightness that dried fruit and sugar need, and recalls the raisins at the heart of the cookie.
Professional Technique
The key ratio is the fat to the flour, here 150 g of lard to 500 g of flour, 30 percent. It produces a short but sturdy dough, strong enough to carry the weight of 350 g of raisins and nuts, about 70 percent of the flour weight, without crumbling when cut. Less fat makes a hard, dry cookie; more fat makes a dough that falls apart around the fruit.
The hidden variable is the leavening. Baker's ammonia, ammonium bicarbonate, decomposes completely into gas in the heat of the oven and leaves no aftertaste, producing a lighter and crisper crumb than baking powder. It works only in cookies thin enough to dry through: in a thick cake the gas stays trapped and the smell remains. At 1/2 inch (12 mm) the papassinos are at the limit, which is why the oven is moderate and the bake long enough to dry them completely.
The doneness test is the underside. Lift a cookie from the center of the sheet: the base should be evenly golden and the inside, when broken, dry and fine-crumbed, with no damp band under the surface. Pale bases mean a soft, doughy center; dark bases mean the sugar and the raisins have begun to burn.
Dough and Glaze Control
The dough needs a light hand. Mix the flour just until it disappears, and add the fruit and nuts by hand at the end. Every extra minute of mixing develops gluten and makes the cookies tough and inclined to shrink into irregular shapes. Rolling between parchment avoids adding extra flour, which dries the dough and dulls the surface.
Cutting diamonds cleanly through raisins and nuts requires a cold dough and a sharp knife. Wipe the blade often, and press straight down rather than dragging, so the edges stay sharp and the fruit does not tear the surface. Chill the cut cookies for 10 minutes before baking if the kitchen is warm: a cold cookie keeps its shape in the oven.
The glaze is a question of thickness. Too thin and it runs off the edges and dries transparent; too thick and it cracks when dry and hides the shape of the cookie. Adjust it with powdered sugar or a few drops of lemon juice until it coats the back of a spoon in an opaque white layer. Always glaze cold cookies: on a warm cookie the glaze melts and turns sticky.
Professional Mise en Place
Papassinos are made in batches and keep for weeks, so plan a single baking session for the whole holiday season. Prepare the nuts and raisins first, then the dough, and glaze only when every cookie has cooled.
Equipment and tools
Stand mixer with paddle, or a large bowl and a sturdy spatula
Two baking sheets, parchment, two 1/2 inch (12 mm) wooden guides, rolling pin
Long sharp knife, ruler, thin metal spatula, cooling racks
Whisk, small bowl, offset spatula, fine sieve for the powdered sugar
Prepared ahead
Nuts toasted and chopped, up to 3 days ahead, in a sealed jar
Raisins plumped, dried and kept covered
Dough made and rested, up to 2 days ahead, refrigerated
Service setup
Cookies glazed and fully dried at least 2 hours before packing or serving
Tins lined with parchment for storage
Serving tray, dessert wine at the right temperature
Chef Tips
Toss the raisins in a spoon of the flour before adding them to the dough. The light coating keeps them from clumping together and spreads them evenly through every cookie.
For a deeper, more traditional flavor, replace 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the milk with sapa, the Sardinian cooked grape must. The dough turns a light amber color and tastes of grape, a step toward the darker papassinos of some villages.
Keep the glaze covered with a damp cloth while you work. Exposed to air it forms a skin within minutes, and lumps of dried glaze spoil the smooth surface.
Bake a single test cookie before the whole sheet. Ovens differ, and a test shows whether the cookies spread, color too fast or need another minute, without risking the batch.
Common Mistakes
Using dry, hard raisins. They absorb moisture from the dough and burn on the surface. Soak them briefly and dry them well.
Skipping the toasting of the nuts. Raw almonds and walnuts taste flat and soften in the dough. Toast them until fragrant before chopping.
Overworking the dough. The gluten develops, the cookies turn tough and shrink in the oven. Mix just until the flour disappears.
Rolling the dough too thin or unevenly. Thin cookies dry out and burn at the edges, while uneven ones bake at different speeds. Use guides for an exact 1/2 inch (12 mm).
Underbaking with baker's ammonia. The gas stays trapped and the cookies smell of ammonia. Bake until the inside is completely dry.
Glazing warm cookies. The glaze melts, soaks in and never sets. Wait until the cookies are completely cold.
Using raw, unpasteurized egg white in the glaze. The glaze is not cooked enough to be safe. Use pasteurized egg white from a carton.
Wine Pairing
Malvasia di Bosa DOC: From the western coast of Sardinia, a golden wine of Malvasia grapes, often aged under a veil of yeast, with notes of almond, dried apricot, honey and a saline finish. In its sweet version it mirrors the toasted almonds and the raisins of the papassinos perfectly. Serve at about 54°F (12°C).
Girò di Cagliari DOC: A rare sweet red of southern Sardinia, made from the Girò grape, with notes of cherry, dried plum and spice. Its red fruit lifts the raisins and the walnuts, and its warmth suits the cookies served at the end of a winter meal. Serve at about 57°F (14°C).
Cagliari DOC: The broad appellation of southern Sardinia includes sweet whites from Moscato and Malvasia, with notes of orange blossom, apricot and honey. Their aromatic freshness matches the orange and lemon zest of the dough and the sugar of the glaze. Serve at about 50°F (10°C).
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC: Beyond the island, the amber dessert wine of Tuscany, made from dried grapes and aged in small barrels, with notes of dried fig, hazelnut and honey. Like cantucci, papassinos are perfect for a slow conversation over a glass of Vin Santo. Serve at about 54°F (12°C).
Storage & Reheating
Room temperature: once the glaze is completely dry, store the papassinos in an airtight tin, in layers separated by parchment, for up to 3 weeks; their low moisture and the sugar of the glaze keep them crisp. Keep them away from heat and humidity, which make the glaze sticky. Refrigerator: not recommended, because condensation softens the glaze. Freezer: the unglazed baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months in a sealed container; thaw them in the container at room temperature, then glaze and decorate.
Papassinos are not reheated. If they have softened after many days in a humid kitchen, set the unglazed ones in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 minutes to crisp them, and let them cool before serving. Glazed cookies can be refreshed in a 175°F (80°C) oven for 5 minutes, which dries the glaze without melting it.
Nutrition
Per serving, based on 20 servings of 2 cookies:
Calories: 350 kcal
Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
Cholesterol: 35 mg
Sodium: 30 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 51 g
Fiber: 2 g
Total Sugars: 29 g
Added Sugars: 24 g
Protein: 6 g
Principal micronutrients: vitamin E, manganese, iron, thiamin, copper, magnesium
These figures are estimates, calculated on the quantities listed and rounded to the nearest whole number. They vary with the size of the cookies, the nuts used and the amount of glaze.
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