🇲🇹 Maltese Recipes

Traditional Mediterranean Cuisine

Biskuttini tar-Raħal (Maltese Village Biscuits)

Light Maltese village biscuits scented with aniseed, cloves, citrus and orange blossom, finished with fine lines of pastel icing.

Prep: 35 minutes (plus cooling and icing setting) Cook: 40 minutes Servings: 24 biscuits
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Watercolour illustration of Maltese village biscuits decorated with fine pastel pink, blue and white icing.

Ingredients

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Measures: 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml. For local ingredient names and substitutions, see our guide to Maltese ingredients abroad.

Instructions

  1. Prepare: Heat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C). Line two baking trays. Mix the flour, baking powder, aniseed, cloves and salt in a bowl.
  2. Beat the eggs: In another bowl, whisk eggs and caster sugar for 4-5 minutes until thick and pale. Stir in the citrus zest, orange blossom water and vanilla.
  3. Make the dough: Fold the dry mixture into the eggs in two additions, just until combined. Leave for 10 minutes so the flour absorbs the moisture. The dough should be soft and a little tacky; dust your hands rather than working in lots of extra flour.
  4. Shape: Divide into 24 small portions. With lightly floured hands, roll gently into balls and place well apart on the trays. Flatten only slightly; they should bake into small domed biscuits.
  5. Bake in batches: Bake one tray at a time for 16-20 minutes, allowing up to 40 minutes of oven use for both trays. They should be pale golden underneath and set on top. Cool completely on a rack.
  6. Decorate: Mix icing sugar with water a little at a time to make an icing that pipes in a fine line. Add colouring sparingly if using. Pipe loose loops or thin zigzags across the cooled biscuits and leave until the icing is dry before storing.

Keep the Dough Light

The whisked eggs give this version its body. Fold in the flour without kneading it like bread, then give the mixture its short rest before shaping. Use just enough flour on your hands to stop sticking; too much makes the finished biscuit heavy.

Cloves are strong, so measure the small quantity. The aniseed, fresh citrus zest and a little ilma żahar should remain noticeable together.

Fine Icing Lines

Let the biscuits become completely cold before decorating. Add water to the icing by the teaspoon: it needs to flow through a small piping hole and hold a thin line. Divide it between small bowls if you want white, pink and blue on one platter. A little colour goes a long way.

Explore more biscuits and celebration bakes in Maltese desserts and sweets.

Keeping

Let the icing dry fully, then store in an airtight tin for up to five days. Put baking paper between layers so the decoration stays intact. Freeze undecorated biscuits if making a batch further ahead, then thaw and ice them before serving.

Village and christening biscuits

Biskuttini tar-raħal are Maltese village biscuits also associated with christenings, often decorated with pink or blue icing. Family recipes differ, including egg-based mixtures and versions with added fat. This version uses whisked eggs, aniseed, cloves, citrus and orange blossom water, with a light decoration after baking.