Cookie

Piparelli Abstinence during Lent means that for the forty days preceding Easter, Catholics all over Sicily are supposed to eat cucina magra (literally, lean food). This means no meat, no fat, no eggs. Theoretically. Modern Catholics get to choose what they give up for Lent, and this is called fare un fioretto, or making a sacrifice. There is little indication that pastries and sweets are even near the top of the "to give up" list, other than the presence of quaresimali, the general term for the category of austere cookies that appear in pastry shops during the spring. Piparelli are the Lenten cookies that the people of Messina like best. At the Pasticceria Vinci Domenico in Messina, piparelli are such a favorite that they're now made year-round.

(Teules de Taronja) These crisp cookies are shaped like the terra-cotta roof tiles, teules (tejas in Castilian Spanish), that top village houses—old and new—throughout Spain. Almonds are a common ingredient in Catalan cookies, but we took another cue from the Moors and added candied orange.

(Chocolate Rum Cookies)

Shaped in muffin cups, these cookies have a crisp pie-pastry bottom and a chewy jam-accented coconut filling.

Malouines At the restaurant, these cookies are about the size of a dime. We found them much easier to work with, however, if we made them a little bigger.

These cookies are popular in the teahouses of Europe. Their name is derived from that of Count Alexander von Souvarov (1729-1800), a field marshal and epicure.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A very moist, fudgy brownie.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A favorite flavor combination in a fudgy brownie.

These cake-like treats are moist and spicy-and great with milk.