← All recipes

Minni di Vergini (Breasts of the Virgin)

Minni di Vergini (Breasts of the Virgin) is built on Unbleached All Purpose Flour, Sugar, Lard, Egg, and Milk. Serves 3. Save it, add the ingredients to your shopping list, and cook it tonight.

Illustrative photo

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup
• 2/3 cup
• 2/3 cup
• 1
• 1/4 cup

Method (preview)

1. 1

   Using an electric mixer, food processor, or pastry cutter, combine the flour, sugar, lard, and egg.

2. 2

   Add milk as needed to make a soft dough; you may need to use all of the milk.

3. 3

   Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Rind of 1 lemon, grated

5. 5

   Prepare the pastry cream.

6. 6

   With a wire whisk, beat together the egg yolks and sugar.

7. 7

   In the top of a double boiler, stir the cornstarch into the milk until it is suspended.

8. 8

   Add the lemon rind, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

9. 9

   Heat the mixture over very hot water, stirring continuously, until it thickens.

10. 10

    Set the pastry cream aside to cool.

11. 11

    On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough.

12. 12

    Stir the chocolate chips and candied fruit into the pastry cream.

13. 13

    Drop heaping tablespoonsfuls of the pastry cream in rows on the dough, spacing the gobs of cream about 1/2 inch apart.

14. 14

    Brush the spaces with 1 egg white.

15. 15

    Roll out the remaining half of the dough and lay it carefully on top of the layer dotted with filling, pressing down between the lumps to seal the filling in.

16. 16

    Cut the cookies in rounds, each containing filling.

17. 17

    Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees F. Beat the remaining 5 egg whites until they are stiff but not dry.

18. 18

    Spread the beaten egg whites over the tops of the cookies so that they are smooth white mounds.

19. 19

    Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet and bake them for 45 minutes, sprinkling with confectioner's sugar just before they come out of the oven.