government of Venice (then independent) to the nuns of the convent of St
Matthew on an island in the Venetian Lagoon, telling them to cut down on the
number of Bussolai that they consumed around Easter, or they would be in
money-troubles.
The same dough is used for both the ‘Bussolai’ and the ‘Essi’, the only
difference being the shape. The Bussolai (from the word ‘busa’, dialect for
‘hole’) are ring-shaped and thus have a hole in the centre, while the ‘Essi’ are
shaped like the letter ‘S’. In theory, the ‘Bussolai’ and ‘Essi’ should only be
made in the baker’s wood-oven, since the temperature reached in these ovens
cannot be reached at home. In Venice many people make the dough at home
and take it to the baker’s. At Easter, long queues of people wanting to have
their ‘Bussolai’ and ‘Essi’ baked can be found in front of any Baker’s shop.
These cookies are usually an after-dinner treat, when they are served with a
glass of one of the many locally produced sweet wines. The ‘Essi’, because of
their elongated shape, are easy to dip into your glass and let it soak up some
of the wine.
5 parts of flour
3 parts of sugar
1 egg-yolk per
150 grams of flour
1 ½ part of butter
vanilla flavouring
grated lemon peel
