Pupa con uova in its early stages

Even though I’ve been down and out with the flu for the past week….I did manage to venture out. I couldn’t pass up the chance to make a few Easter treats with my aunt.

Pupa con uova (“pupa” means doll and “con uova” with egg….not really sure of the correlation between the two here) are a Sicilian treat made especially for Easter and as kids, we used to look forward to my zia Vincenzina making us a few every year around this time.

A closeup of an unfinished Pupa con uova

Pupa con uova is a bread-like pastry that is decorated by placing a hard boiled coloured egg in the middle of the dough, baking it and then decorating it with icing, sprinkles and chocolates.  I couldn’t find any information on them anywhere and no one is really sure what the history of these oversized cookies are.

The end result.

But it was never Easter without zia’s pupa con uova. This year, my aunt Giovanna decided to continue on the tradition in honour of her mom and the pupa con uova lives on! After a few hours of sitting round la tiggia (a large floured board), kneading and shaping our dough and chatting it up….we had nearly 20 pupa con uova! Once they were baked, we drizzled them with icing sugar, sprinkles and added a chocolate egg or two.

I love participating in activities that have been a part of a family for years. It’s important to keep those traditions and carry them on. Nowadays we tend to get lost in the fast pace of life and often times opt for the quickest way to get things done. But it’s always okay to take time out, slow it down and enjoy the process of making something from scratch.