Name: Sfratti (Nut-Filled Cookie Sticks)
Yield: Makes forty-eight 2-inch-long cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash; 2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped; 1 tablespoon grated orange zest; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅔ cup honey; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; All-purpose flour or fine dried bread crumbs for dusting; Pinch of freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest; Pinch of salt; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup sugar; ⅔ cup sweet wine; ⅓ cup chilled margarine or unsalted butter

Preparation info

Makes
forty-eight
2 inch -long cookies

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Cucina Ebraica

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 1998

About

Sfratti means “evicted.” The name comes from Italian landlords of long ago who used sticks to chase away poor tenants who had not paid their rent. Some of them were probably poor Jews. The cookies are sticklike, and Jewish cooks have turned their origins around, making them instead sweet symbols of eviction. These honey-and-nut-filled cookies are served at Rosh Hashanah. As described in Aldo Santini’s La cucina maremmana, they are made with pastry moistened wi