A classic cookie needs little assistance and consists of a straightforward list of ingredients, and that’s what you see with this recipe for Burano Butter Cookies or Buranelli di Burano. Here, a rich combination of butter and egg yolks makes tender cookies that are perfumed with citrus and rum for a real taste of everyday Italy.

The sleepy lagoon town of Venice isn’t just gondolas and magnificent palaces. A little off the normal path of tourists, lies the known but not-so-known area of Burano. The buildings of this area are a dazzling array of different colors, mirroring what we’d imagine from a coastal tropical Caribbean town instead of a northeastern region of Italy.

Called buranelli, these buttery-rich cookies were originally associated with the months of Easter. Hundreds of years ago, when household ovens weren’t a thing, people would have cookies baked in communal ovens. During the gray, wet months of February and March people would make these cookies and then store them until the period of Lent finished and Easter celebrations began.

Nowadays, in this quieter part of Venice, two bakeries have been keeping this once seasonal cookie in continued production, so much so that it’s associated with all of Venice (not just Burano) and eaten throughout the year. The original donut-shaped buranelli are called bussolà and the s-shaped versions are called essi. Whichever shape you eat, these treats are a fusion between a crispy classic cookie and tender shortbread.

The dough starts off by combining the eggs, sugar, rum, lemon zest, and vanilla. If you don’t like rum, you can omit it and use half a teaspoon of an extract like orange or almond instead.

Next cut the butter into the flour, creating a uniform crumbly mixture.

The egg mixture gets added to the dry mixture, and then the dough is combined until it is an almost uniform dough.
Form it into a log shape and let it rest in the refrigerator for twenty minutes. After the dough is chilled, it is divided into even portions and rolled into balls.

Next the next is divided up and shaped into either a donut or s-shape. After a brushing of egg wash, the cookies are baked until slightly golden on the edges.

Whether you eat them warm or cold, these Burano Butter Cookies fit any occasion! The flavors of rum, lemon, and vanilla create a wonderful floral and complex taste.

The plain undecorated appearance would make you assume that these cookies are dry, but that is far from the case. Egg yolks and butter give these cookies a surprisingly tender and melt-away quality to each bite that has the perfect amount of moistness!

Classically these are served alongside a sweet wine like vin santo or zibibbo, but they make great companions to a hot cup of coffee as well!