In my family, the Easter season doesn’t begin until we make my grandmother’s famous Ricotta and Citron Easter pie. There’s something so special about recipes that connect us to our roots, and this pie brings that feeling to the table. The unique elements of this golden masterpiece include fresh ricotta, with egg yolks, cinnamon and nutmeg and the unmistakable, sweet-tart pop from the candied orange peel and candied citron. Her pasta frolla crust also adds cinnamon to the classic ingredients for such an aded warming tasting note to the perfectly flaky crust.
The flavors are the perfect balance of creamy, zesty and sweet and the smell of it baking brings me back to her kitchen. This is the first dessert to always disappear at our family Easter celebrations, and my dough recipe makes enough for two pies. We would often double the filling recipe below to make two pies and save one for Pasquetta Monday.
Today, I’m making ribbon cookie strips out of the extra dough dusted with cinnamon and sugar. When I was small, all the kids in the family would wait for the “ribbons” to come out after they baked for about 8-12 minutes at 350 degrees. We would devour them standing in the kitchen and eyeing the beautiful pie while it cooled.
Find my recipe below and enjoy this pie that carries our heritage and represents the renewal of Spring and the Holy Easter Holiday. I’m honored to keep this tradition alive, one citrusy slice at a time. I hope you give my recipe a try and bring a bit of my Easter memories to your home. Follow me for more inspired Italian recipes from Casa Michele’s kitchen.
30
minutes1
hourThis recipe is from yy Fraternal Grandmother Bettina Sessa who was from the Village of Angri near Naples, Italy.
Ingredients for Pasta Frolla
2 cups 2 flour, sifted
1 1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 cup 1/2 granular sugar
1/2 1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup 1/4 plus 3 tbsp. water, mixed with half and half
1/2 tsp. 1/2 cinnamon
- Ingredients for Filling
1 lb. 1 ricotta (do not use fresh as it will be too wet)
3/4 cup 3/4 sugar
1/4 cup 1/4 half and half
1/2 cup 1/2 chopped candied orange peel, combined with candied citron
5 5 egg yolks, beaten
2 tsp. 2 cinnamon
1/2 tsp. 1/2 nutmeg
Directions: Pasta frolla crust
- Melt butter and add to a large bowl with granulated sugar.
- Add cinnamon and 1 cup of flour.
- Mix in the beaten egg yolk and remaining cup of flour with water and milk to form the dough. Form into a round disc, then refrigerate and prepare the filling.
- This crust recipe makes two 9-inch pies, but we’re making 1 pie and ribbon cookies with the remaining dough - they are the grandkids’ favorite treat!
- Filling
- Beat egg yolks with sugar and in ricotta, half and half, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Add chopped candied fruits and stir well.
- Pre heat oven to 300 degrees and grease 9-inch pie pan with Crisco.
- Roll out ¾ of the dough and place into pie pan, crimping the edges.
- Pour in filling and make lattice strips with remaining dough.
- Attach the lattice strips to the crimped crust so they don’t sink.
- Bake for 45 minutes and increase heat to 350 for 10-15 minutes, depending on oven.
- Remove to wire rack and cool completely before serving.
- It can be made ahead and refrigerated for five days or frozen up to three months.
- Ribbon cookie strips
- Make decorative strips and dust with cinnamon and sugar that you press into the dough.
- I even made a few decorative ribbon-shaped strips. Trust me, these will vanish like magic!!!
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