Clementine Canestrelli Cookies

August 3, 2021

These simple Italian shortbread cookies or canestrelli are tender, buttery and just perfect with your morning coffee or an afternoon cup of tea. Classically, these cookies are subtly flavored with a little vanilla and lemon zest, but today, I am using these beautiful cookies to celebrate the start of citrus season in a delicious way…

With the addition of fresh clementine zest and juice, these canestrelli transform into fun, zesty little cookies that are both beautiful and incredibly flavorful.

Let’s get them started…

Start by gathering 130 grams of all purpose flour, 100 grams of cornstarch, 80 grams of confectioners sugar, 11 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of fresh clementine zest, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of fresh clementine juice and 3 hard boiled egg yolks.

If you are wondering why these cookies require hard boiled egg yolks, there is a good explanation! Cooking the egg yolks in advance creates a texture that speckles throughout the dough instead of fully incorporating into it. These tiny bits of cooked yolk prevent the development of gluten in the dough ensuring a very tender finished product. Once you see the texture that cooked egg yolks give to these cookies, you will be a believer!

*Note: I highly suggest weighing your ingredients for these cookies. In the ingredient list below, I included approximate cup measurements. If you do not weigh the ingredients, scoop the flour, confectioners sugar and cornstarch into your measuring cups and use the back of a knife to level it off.

The easiest way to bring this dough together is in a food processor. You can also use a stand mixer or a pastry cutter, if you prefer to do it by hand.

Start by adding 130 grams of all purpose flour, 100 grams of cornstarch, 80 grams of confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon of clementine zest and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the food processor. Pulse 3 times to combine.

Next, add 11 tablespoons of cold, cubed butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract into the dry ingredients and pulse about 5 times to combine.

Crumble 3 hard boiled egg yolks into the mixture and pulse another 3 times to work the yolks evenly throughout the dough.

Gradually add fresh clementine juice a little bit at a time until you have a loose crumbly texture. This will take somewhere between 1 tablespoon and 4 tablespoons of clementine juice. If your clementines are really juicy and seedless, you can squeeze the juice directly into the dough. If not, juice them into a bowl and add the juice from there.

This is the texture that you are looking for (photo above). It is crumbly and will form a ball easily if you squeezed it in your palm, but it should not be wet.

At this point, transfer those crumbles onto a floured surface…

Gently knead the dough together and shape it into a thick, round disk.

Cover the disk of dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Once the dough is chilled, gently roll it out on a floured surface. Canestrelli can be anywhere from 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick. I like my cookies on the thicker side, so I keep the dough 1/2″ thick. Canestrelli are traditionally shaped like flowers with a small hole in the center, so today I used a 2 1/2″ wide flower shaped cookie cutter and used the end of a smooth round pastry tip to create the hole.

Although canestrelli are usually flower shaped, you can shape them however you want! Rolling the dough out to 1/2″ thick and using a 2 1/2″ cookie cutter, I was able to create 20 cookies. This dough would work great with smaller cookie cutters too!

Transfer the cut outs onto parchment lined baking sheets. These cookies do not spread out much during baking, so you only need to leave an inch or so between them. Once they are all cut out, transfer the baking sheets into the refrigerator to chill the dough for about 10 minutes before baking. Chilling the dough will help ensure that they hold their shape during the baking process.

Bake the cookies in a 325 degree oven for 12 minutes (a little less time for small cookies). These cookies will stay pale and you will know that they are done when they feel set to a light touch. At this point, transfer the baking sheet onto a cooling rack and let the cookies cool there for about 5 minutes. Once they feel cool enough to move, transfer them directly onto a cooling rack.

While your canestrelli are cooling, whip up a batch of clementine glaze…

Place 1 cup of confectioners sugar into a small bowl and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract. Gradually add freshly squeezed clementine juice, whisking as you go, until you develop a thick, smooth glaze. This should take somewhere between 2-4 teaspoons of clementine juice.

Once your canestrelli has cooled and your glaze is ready, dip the tops of each cookie into the glaze and return them to the cooling rack. To further decorate these beauties, sprinkle some sprinkles or sanding sugar over the glaze before it sets.

Aren’t they adorable? So elegant and delicate. The perfect little cookie to decorate any brunch table or celebration spread. They are tender, buttery and totally delicious with lots of bright citrusy flavors and pair perfectly with coffee, tea or a latte.

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