Living in Italy six months of every year allows us the opportunity to travel around Italy and explore all that it has to offer. One short trip we try and take every year is to Venice, one of our favorite Italian cities. When we do have the opportunity to visit Venice, we often take the water bus to the island of Burano. This small island is packed with colorful houses, great restaurants, and many shops selling handmade lace items.

Apart from gorging on seafood when we visit Burano, I love to pick up a bag of these buttery cookies that Burano is famous for. These simple cookies are not too sweet, lightly lemon-flavored, and are just crisp enough to satisfy a craving for a snack.

Buttery cookies such as these ones are my favorite type of cookie, and Bussola cookies are often S-shaped or formed into a ring shape. I shaped mine into the traditional backward S-shape, as shown in the photos. These cookies store well in an airtight container for up to a week.

Although these cookies would look good on any holiday cookie tray, they are good year-round enjoyed with a foamy cappuccino or glass of sweet wine. My cookies may appear more yellow than your cookies because I have chickens, so use their eggs. Eggs from backyard chickens tend to have much darker yolks than store-bought eggs.

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

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Bussola Cookies From Burano {Venetian Butter Cookies}

Yield: 20 Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Buttery cookies from Veneto with just a hint of lemon flavor.

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Ingredients

• 1 Stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• 2 Cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 4 Large Egg Yolks At Room Temperature, Lightly Beaten
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Finely Grated Lemon Zest

Instructions

1. In one bowl, stir together the flour and sugar.
2. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly.
3. In a small bowl, stir together egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest.
4. Add the egg yolks and mix until the dough comes together.
5. Shape into a foot long cylinder and wrap well in plastic wrap.
6. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
7. Divide the dough in half, return one half to the refrigerator until needed.
8. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Slice half the dough into 8 to 10 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a 6 to 7 inch long rope.
10. Shape into a backward S.
11. Place the shaped cookies on the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
12. Shape the remaining refrigerated dough and refrigerate.
13. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown on the bottom. (The cookies will crisp up as they bake)
14. Cool completely and then store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 51mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g

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