Canestrelli di Avosso

With a texture somewhere between a cookie and a pastry, canestrello di Avosso is a crunchy, golden brown treat traditionally prepared in Avosso di Casella near Genoa. The dough is made with wheat flour, butter, and sugar, and it must be kneaded by hand, rolled and cut with a cookie stamp, then brushed with milk and tossed in sugar before baking. Although nowadays they might seem as a simple sweet, in the eastern part of Liguria, they used to be a symbol of abundance, prepared for religious feasts such as Palm Sunday: together with hazelnut necklaces, apples, and dried fruit, canestrelli di Avosso were used to decorate olive branches that people would take to church for a blessing.