Figolla is a Maltese pastry stuffed with a marzipan-like filling and served as an

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

sweet. These are often shaped like hearts, crosses, stars, fish, bunnies, any symbol which links to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, particularly

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, but in modern times these can be shaped into anything the person you give one to is passionate about. The biscuit base is predominantly made of plain flour, butter/margarine, caster sugar,

vanilla essence Vanilla extract is a Solution (chemistry), solution made by maceration (food), macerating and percolation, percolating vanilla, vanilla pods in a solution of ethanol and water. It is considered an essential ingredient in many Western desserts, es ...

, eggs, lemon rind and water. The marzipan-like filling is made of ground almonds, caster sugar, egg whites, and almond essence. Some may also add orange rind or more lemon. Figolli are generally topped with sugar icing or melted chocolate with hundreds-and-thousands on top. In

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, these are baked during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

in the Catholic denomination of Christianity, and given to children/close family or friends to be eaten on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. Some Maltese villages have a tradition where the Figolli are blessed by a priest in the Pjazza outside the church along with modern chocolate

Easter Eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

. Figolli (plural of figolla) are thought to have Ancient Sicilian roots as the word comes from the Sicilian word ‘figulina’ meaning figure. These were also baked for religious purposes and also for victory against invaders such as the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

who were also made to be figures also in remembrance of those events. These figulina baked in Ancient

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, are not as popular in Sicily in modern times, but have stayed and evolved in

References

Maltese cuisine Stuffed desserts Easter food Almond dishes Pastries {{Malta-stub

See also

References