Raviole cookies are traditional from Bologna.
In a city where fresh pasta is the queen of the table, raviole cookies are, in the feminine form, the sweet version of ravioli. These are filled cookies that belong to the peasant cuisine. Although they are now enjoyed year-round, traditionally, they are the typical cookies for the feast of Saint Joseph, celebrated on March 19, which also coincides with Father’s Day.
They herald the arrival of spring, and perhaps for this reason, they have always made me think of swallows.
Raviole cookies recipe
These cookies are made with shortcrust pastry and a local jam called mostarda bolognese. You can substitute the filling with another kind of jam or cream. In fact, today, the raviole you can buy in the city’s bakeries are filled with various jams and creams. Those filled with custard are the favorite of my husband, and perhaps, mine too. Recently, I tried a new kind of raviole cookies with red wine shortcrust pastry and cherry jam filling, which were really good.
Whatever the filling, Bolognese raviole cookies are perfect for breakfast and snack time or to take along in a picnic basket for the first outings of the season. The ones with pastry cream are also suitable for the Easter and Easter Monday tables.
Their half-moon shape makes the raviole cookies look like smiles.
After all, smiles and cookies are never enough.
Buona cucina, Monica
Mostarda Bolognese and Pinza
This is a thick, dark jam made from quince fruit. It has a slightly sour taste but is not to be confused with the spicy Cremona mustard. The local mostarda is used as a jam to fill cookies and pinza, the most typical ciambella of Bologna.
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Raviole cookies of Bologna
Equipment
- 1 round cookie mold, 9cm diameter
Ingredients
- 500 g of 00 flour
- 150 g of granulated sugar
- 5 g of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 170 g of refrigerator-cold butter, cut into chunks
- 3 regular eggs
- grated zest of half a lemon or vanilla flavoring to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons of milk, if needed
- 250 g of mostarda bolognese or plum jam or another jam!
Instructions
- In the bowl of the planetary mixer, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then add butter, eggs, and half a grated lemon zest or 1 teaspoon of natural vanilla flavor.
- Mix with the dough hook until the dough is soft and well blended for about 10-15 minutes.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 1 hour. If you can, make it the day before.
- Preheat oven to 180C /356F degrees.
- Roll out the dough thin (3-4 millimeters) with a rolling pin.
- Use a glass or round cookie mold about 9 cm in diameter. You can make smaller raviole or mini raviole.
- Arrange a generous teaspoon of bolognese mustard in the center of each cookie, close the dough on itself, forming a half moon, and seal the edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork.
- Arrange the raviole Bolognese on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool before moving them.
- Store in a metal box for a couple of weeks.
Tips
- For about 36 cookies.
- While kneading, add a couple of tablespoons of milk if the dough seems too firm.
- If you prefer, decorate the cookies with powdered sugar.
