Chef Graziella
Baci di Dama
Piedmont's famous hazelnut cookies, each one small as a walnut and twice as fragile. Two tender domes joined by a whisper of dark chocolate, named for how they resemble lips meeting in a kiss.
Culinary Explorer
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Biscotti Regina
Created by
The queen's cookies of Sicily, encrusted in sesame seeds that toast golden in the oven. Not too sweet, perfect for dipping, and proof that Arab influence left Sicily with treasures beyond architecture.
Pastries & Cookies
Italian, Sicilian
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
20 min cook•50 min total
Yield36 cookies
These are the cookies that sit in glass jars on the counters of every pasticceria in Palermo. Biscotti Regina, the queen's biscuits, though which queen they honor depends on who tells the story. What matters is the cookie itself: a tender, lightly sweet dough encased in a crust of toasted sesame seeds that shatter when you bite.
The sesame is not decoration. It is the point. Sicily sat at the crossroads of Mediterranean trade for centuries, and the Arab merchants who ruled the island from the ninth to eleventh centuries left behind more than mosques and irrigation systems. They left sesame, almonds, citrus, and a taste for sweets that still defines Sicilian baking.
These cookies require no special skill, only attention. The dough must not be overworked. The butter must stay cold. The sesame must coat every surface. Sicilian grandmothers made these by the hundreds for feast days and weddings, stacking them in towering pyramids. You will make three dozen. That should be enough, unless you taste one while they are still warm from the oven. Then you may need to make more.
Sesame arrived in Sicily with Arab traders during the emirate period (827-1091 CE), transforming the island's cuisine permanently. Biscotti Regina emerged from this fusion, combining European butter-cookie technique with the Middle Eastern love of sesame. The 'regina' title appeared later, possibly honoring a Bourbon queen's fondness for the cookies, though Palermitani have argued about this for generations.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
2 1/2 cups
granulated sugar
Quantity
1/2 cup
baking powder
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
unsalted butter
Quantity
8 tablespoons
cold, cut into small cubes
large eggs
Quantity
2
pure vanilla extract
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lemon zest
Quantity
1 teaspoon
finely grated
whole milk
Quantity
1/2 cup
sesame seeds
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour | 2 1/2 cups |
| granulated sugar | 1/2 cup |
| baking powder | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| fine sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| unsalted buttercold, cut into small cubes | 8 tablespoons |
| large eggs | 2 |
| pure vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
| lemon zestfinely grated | 1 teaspoon |
| whole milk | 1/2 cup |
| sesame seeds | 1 1/2 cups |
Equipment Needed
- •Pastry cutter or fork for cutting in butter
- •Shallow bowl for milk
- •Plate for sesame seeds
- •Parchment-lined baking sheets
- •Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Combine dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed. These cookies are not overly sweet. The restraint is intentional. Sicilian palates expect the sesame to balance the sugar, not compete with it.
- 2
Cut in the butter
Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand with some pea-sized pieces remaining. This takes three to four minutes by hand. The butter must stay cold. If your hands run warm, work quickly.
Sicilian grandmothers used lard, which creates an even more tender cookie. If you wish to be traditional, substitute half the butter with cold lard. - 3
Add wet ingredients
In a small bowl, beat the eggs lightly with the vanilla and lemon zest. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball. The dough should be smooth but not sticky. If it clings to your hands, dust them with flour. Do not add more flour to the dough itself.
- 4
Shape the cookies
Divide the dough into three equal portions. Roll each portion into a rope about 12 inches long and one inch in diameter. The thickness matters for even baking. Cut each rope into 12 pieces, each about one inch wide. Roll each piece between your palms to smooth the edges into a small log shape.
- 5
Coat in sesame
Pour the milk into a shallow bowl. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate. One at a time, dip each cookie into the milk, turning to coat all sides, then immediately roll in the sesame seeds, pressing gently so they adhere. The seeds should cover the cookie completely. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing one inch apart.
Work efficiently. The milk softens the dough surface, which helps the sesame stick, but the cookies become fragile if they sit too long before baking. - 6
Bake until golden
Bake in the center of an oven preheated to 375°F until the cookies are golden and the sesame seeds are lightly toasted, 18 to 20 minutes. The bottoms should be golden brown, not pale. Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even color. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 7
Cool and store
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring to a rack. They will firm as they cool. Do not stack them until completely cooled or the sesame coating will stick and pull away. These keep beautifully in an airtight container. They are even better the second day, when the flavors have melded.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out unhulled sesame seeds if you can find them. They have a slightly more assertive flavor and a prettier speckled appearance. Hulled white sesame seeds work perfectly well.
- •The lemon zest is not negotiable. It provides the brightness that prevents these cookies from becoming cloying. Use a microplane and take only the yellow part, never the bitter white pith.
- •These cookies are traditional with Marsala wine or strong espresso. The slight sweetness and nutty sesame complement both. In Sicily, no one would eat them alone.
- •If your sesame seeds are not fresh, toast them lightly in a dry pan before using. Rancid sesame ruins everything. Smell your seeds before you begin.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can be made one day ahead and refrigerated, wrapped tightly. Bring to cool room temperature before shaping, about 30 minutes.
- •Shaped and sesame-coated cookies can be frozen on baking sheets, then transferred to freezer bags. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
- •Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks. They do not require refrigeration and should not be refrigerated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 25g)
Calories
105 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
18 mg
Sodium
30 mg
Total Carbohydrates
11 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
2 g
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