Sicilian Sesame Biscuits (Biscotti Regina)
Sicilian Sesame Biscuits, also known as biscotti regina or reginelle, are wonderfully aromatic and crunchy with the delightful flavour of vanilla and optional citrus plus a sesame seed coating that’s earthy and nutty. Surprisingly simple to make, they’re an incredibly moreish treat with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or sweet wine.
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HEN, ANGEL, OR QUEEN’S BISCUITS?
I first came across biscotti al sesamo in Clarissa Hyman’s beautiful Cucina Siciliana. I’ve talked about this lovely book before, firstly in my post about Sicilian Semolina Bread which also features sesame seeds. Although there were no photos of the sesame seed biscuits, I think what drew me, apart from their simplicity, was her saying the Sicilian “earthy dialect describes them most vividly: strunzi di ciòcca and strunzi d’àncilu, which mean hen and angel turds respectively.” How could I resist?
Note: If you’d like a copy of Cucina Siciliana hard copies can sometimes be had here and the paperback here.
Hyman explains that the ‘popular savoury yet sweet biscuits’ are also known as biscotti regina, queen’s biscuits, or sometimes biscotti giuggiulena, the old-fashioned word for sesame seeds. My interest piqued, I did further research and found that biscotti al sesamo, which originate in Palermo, are also referred to as reginelle, again hinting that they’re good enough for royalty.
But whether queen or peasant, and whatever you call them, I think if you try surprisingly easy Sicilian Sesame Biscuits, you’ll be just as hooked as I am.
BISCOTTI REGINA: SICILIAN SESAME SEED BISCUITS
The oval shaped biscuits, golden brown and speckled with seeds, look incredibly inviting. Bite into one and you’ll find they’re both crunchy and a little crumbly. Not hard like the Italian cantucci which we in Britain confusingly call biscotti, but a light, crispy crunch similar to shortbread. They seem most often to be flavoured with vanilla, but also lemon or orange zest, sometimes anis or fennel seed. They’re sweet biscuits but not overly sweet, often with less than a teaspoon of sugar per chunky biscuit.
Like cantucci, you can eat Italian sesame biscuits with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or sweet wine. I also think they’d make a lovely accompaniment to soft desserts like ice cream, crème brûlée, or panna cotta.
You’ll find ingredient amounts and full instructions in the recipe card at the end. I recommend though you do read the whole of this post before starting for extra tips plus images to guide you. For the best results, use digital scales and metric measurements as these were used to test my recipe.
Note that this recipe is not the one in the Cucina Siciliana book, but the result of research from various sources. I eventually decided to base mine on the recipe at Marcellina in Cucina, adapted with ideas I learnt elsewhere plus my own baking experience and preferences.
INGREDIENTS
If you do any sweet baking, you’ll probably have all the ingredients you need to make Sicilian Sesame Biscuits.
- Plain (all-purpose) flour.
- Baking powder. Just a little, we’re not looking for a big rise.
- Salt. Can be left out if using salted butter, although I prefer to include some.
- Butter. Salted or unsalted, and soft rather than straight from the fridge. Note: in some regions lard is traditionally used.
- Caster sugar.
- Vanilla extract.
- Zest of 1 orange. Can be replaced lemon zest or left out but does give a wonderful taste and aroma.
- Egg. Gives lightness to the biscuits.
- Sesame seeds. For coating the biscuits before baking.
- Milk. Helps the seeds stick.
HOW TO MAKE SICILIAN SESAME SEED BISCUITS
The method I’ve used starts off a little like making a cake then, as things come together, it becomes a biscuit dough you roll in your hands. In many ways it reminds me of my Orange Shortbread Biscuits. Anyway, the steps are pretty simple. The only thing to remember is to allow time for chilling the dough. Thirty minutes should be enough but, as I made the batch you see here on an incredibly hot day, I increased it to an hour.
MAKE THE DOUGH
To make the dough, start by sifting together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.
In a mixing bowl, and preferably using electric beaters, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, plus zest if using. Now add the egg and a rounded tablespoon of the sifted flour and beat until light and fluffy. HALF of the remaining flour is then beaten in. Finally, the remaining flour goes in, but this time FOLD it in rather than beat.
The result should be a soft dough that needs chilling. I sprinkle a little flour on a sheet of cling film and transfer the dough onto it. Sprinkle with more flour, then wrap and put in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes.
SHAPE THE BISCUITS
To make it easier to handle, divide the dough into 4 pieces. I recommend scales for accuracy. Roll each piece into a rope approximately 20 centimetres long. Rolling the buttery dough on a silicone mat, I find I don’t need any extra flour. Next, cut each rope into 8 pieces, giving you 32 biscuits in all (i.e. 4 x 8). If it’s a hot day, work with 1 of the 4 pieces at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge.
Roll each of the small pieces into a cylinder 4 cm long. To get nice rounded rather than straight ends, I find that rolling into a ball and then a cylinder works best. They may look quite small at this stage, but they’ll expand as they bake. Also, don’t worry if your cylinders aren’t perfect. I found that a bit of unevenness smooths out during cooking.
The biscuits are now ready for coating with the sesame seeds. Again though, if it’s a hot day you may want to chill them so the dough doesn’t become too soft when handing.
COAT IN SESAME SEEDS
Because the biscotti will be in the oven for a relatively short time, the sesame seeds are unlikely to get very browned. So, some cooks like to lightly toast the sesame seeds first. You can do this in a dry frying pan, stirring so they don’t burn. I didn’t bother, and like the creamy white seeds against the golden biscuits. But it’s up to you.
Put the milk in a small bowl and spread the sesame seeds in a wide shallow bowl or on a plate. Pick up a biscuit and put it in the milk. Turn around and around so it’s completely covered, then remove and drop into the sesame seeds. Roll it around to coat, including the ends.
When done, place on a paper-lined baking tray and continue with the rest of the biscuits. As they’ll spread, leave space between them. For the batch pictured here I should probably have used 2 trays as some did end up touching as they expanded. On the other hand, the sesame seed coating stopped them sticking together, so no harm done.
BAKING BISCOTTI REGINA
The Sicilian Sesame Biscuits should take approximately 25 minutes in an oven preheated to the temperature shown in the recipe card. When done, my reginelle should be completely crisp and a light golden brown. Because my oven bakes rather unevenly, I turn the tray around after the first 10 – 12 minutes.
I’ve seen some versions of biscotti regina darker in colour. To achieve that you could bake a little longer or turn up the heat for the final few minutes. Do watch them carefully though as you don’t want them burnt or becoming hard. When done, transfer the gorgeous-smelling biscuits to a cooling rack. Leave until completely cold before storing in an airtight container.
EASY & DELICIOUS ITALIAN SESAME SEED BISCUITS
I’m so pleased I discovered these easy, wonderfully aromatic, crunchy biscuits. They look so beautiful it’s hard not to try one as soon as they come out of the oven. But have patience and you’ll be rewarded with the delightful flavour of sweet vanilla and citrus paired with earthy, nutty sesame. Incredibly moreish, it’s very difficult to stop at just one or two.
I love biscotti regina dipped into coffee or hot chocolate, and even on their own as a sweet (but not too sweet) treat. You can also enjoy them Italian-style dipped into sweet wine. Or how about that simple British favourite, dunked in a cup of tea?
Most recipes for Sicilian Sesame Biscuits say they keep for between 2 weeks and 1 month. I can’t vouch for that though. In our house no batch has lasted more than five days as we just can’t resist them!
If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment and rating.
Sicilian Sesame Biscuits (Biscotti Regina)
Also known as biscotti regina or reginelle, these Italian biscuits are wonderfully aromatic and crunchy with the delightful flavour of vanilla and optional citrus plus a nutty sesame seed coating.
Surprisingly simple to make, they're an incredibly moreish treat with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or sweet wine.
For the best results, use digital scales and metric measurements and read the accompanying blog post before starting.
Ingredients
- 250 g plain (all-purpose) flour (plus extra for dusting)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt (can be reduced or left out if using salted butter)
- 115 g butter, soft (salted or unsalted)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 orange or large lemon, zest only grated and chopped (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1 medium - large egg
For the sesame coating
- 100 - 125 ml milk
- 75 - 100 g sesame seeds (can be lightly toasted in a dry frying pan if liked)
Instructions
Make and chill the dough
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Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt then set aside.
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In a mixing bowl and preferably using electric beaters, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, plus zest if using. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the egg along with a rounded tablespoon of the sifted flour until light and fluffy.
Beat in approximately HALF of the remaining flour.
FOLD in the remaining flour to create a soft dough.
-
Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto a piece of cling film and transfer the dough onto it. Sprinkle with a little more flour then wrap and put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes (or 1 hour if the room was warm).
Shape the biscuits
-
Divide the dough into four pieces, using scales for accuracy, then roll each piece into a rope approximately 20 cm long.
Tip: if the room is warm, work with one piece at a time and return the others to the fridge.
Cut each rope into 8 equal pieces, giving you 32 pieces in total.
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Roll each piece into a cylinder approximately 4 cm long.
Tip: to get rounded ends and a uniform shape, roll each piece into a ball first then into a cylinder.
Add the sesame coating
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Note: if the room is warm you may wish to chill the cylinders in the fridge so they do not become too soft when handling.
Line one large or two regular baking trays with baking paper.
Put the milk in a small bowl and spread the sesame seeds in a wide shallow bowl or on a plate. Tip: you may wish to start with the smaller suggested amounts, adding more later if needed.
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Take each biscuit, put into the bowl of milk and turn so all sides are coated.
Put into the sesame seeds and turn it around to completely coat.
Transfer to the prepared tray(s) leaving space between the biscuits as they will spread during baking.
Tip to reduce sticky hands: Keep one hand dry (for picking up the cylinders, dropping in the milk, turning in the seeds, and placing on the tray) and use the other for turning in the milk.
Bake the biscuits
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Preheat the oven to 180°C /160°C Fan /Gas 4 /350°F.
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Transfer the trays to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the biscuits are a light golden brown.
Tip 1. If your oven cooks unevenly, turn the trays around partway through.
Tip 2. Cook for a further 5 minutes or increase the heat if you prefer a darker colour, but note that the biscuits may turn out harder. Watch carefully so they do not burn.
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Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack and leave until completely cold before storing in an airtight container.
Should keep for at least 1 week and up to a month.
Recipe Notes
This blog post and recipe is based on research from various sources. The final recipe is based on that at Marcellina in Cucina but adapted with ideas I learnt elsewhere plus my own baking experience and preferences.
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