Papassinos
Papassinos, also called papassini or pabassinos in Sardinian, are traditional diamond-shaped festive biscuits packed with raisins, toasted nuts, warm spices and orange zest, finished with royal icing and sprinkles.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Servings
- 24
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 165 kcal
Equipment
- •Rolling pin
- •Baking sheet
- •Parchment paper
- •Pastry cutter or knife
- •Mixing bowls
- •Whisk
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 165 kcal
- fat
- 7 g
- carbs
- 24 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 3 g
- calories
- 165 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Plump the raisins in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain and pat thoroughly dry with a cloth.
- 2
Mix the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and orange zest together in a large bowl.
- 3
Rub the lard into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- 4
Add the beaten whole eggs and work gently into a soft, coherent dough.
- 5
Fold the plumped raisins, chopped walnuts and chopped almonds evenly through the dough.
- 6
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of roughly one centimetre.
- 7
Cut the dough into diagonal strips and cross-cut them to form neat diamond shapes.
- 8
Arrange the diamonds spaced slightly apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- 9
Bake at 180 degrees C for 15 to 18 minutes until lightly golden at the edges.
- 10
Whisk the egg white with sifted icing sugar until a thick, glossy, spreadable white icing forms.
- 11
Brush the glossy icing over each cooled biscuit and scatter immediately with multicoloured sugar sprinkles.
- 12
Allow the iced biscuits to rest uncovered at room temperature for two hours until the glaze sets firm.
Chef's tips
Pat the soaked raisins completely dry before folding them into the dough so excess moisture does not soften the biscuit texture. Use genuine lard if possible, as it yields the traditional crumbly, tender texture prized in inland Sardinian pastry.
Ingredient substitutions
- strutto → unsalted butter at room temperature, though lard gives a crisper, more authentic crumb
- diavulicchi → plain colourful sugar sprinkles or a whole blanched almond pressed into the centre
Storage
Store in an airtight tin at room temperature, separated by parchment paper, for up to two weeks.
Reheating
Papassinos are best enjoyed cold or at room temperature and should not be reheated.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Rolling the dough too thin, which causes the dense nut pieces to poke through and the biscuit to dry out during baking.
- •Applying the sugar icing while the biscuits are still warm, which makes the icing melt and run off rather than setting opaque white.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Papassinos?
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