Christmas Petrali

Ingredients

For the filling

• 250 g sugar
• 70 g bitter cocoa
• 500 ml Marsala liqueur
• 250 g dried figs
• 150 g walnuts
• 150 g almonds
• 300 g raisins
• 70 g mixed Turkish delight
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the dough

• 1500 g flour
• 3 packets baking powder
• 600 g sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 300 g margarine or lard
• 4 vials vanilla essence
• Zest of 2 oranges
• grated
• Zest of 1 lemon
• grated
• 9 eggs
• 1 egg for brushing

For decorating

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 45 ml milk
• 50 g decorative sprinkles
• 80 g powdered sugar
• 100 g Turkish delight

Preparation

1. Cut the figs, walnuts, almonds and Turkish delight into rough pieces. Put them in a saucepan with the raisins, sugar, cocoa and cinnamon. Pour in the Marsala and cook the mixture over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes thick and soft, like marmalade. 2. Remove the filling from the heat and leave it to cool, then cover and let it rest for 24 hours. 3. Mix the flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the margarine or lard, vanilla essence, grated orange and lemon zest, and eggs. Knead until you have a smooth, pliable dough. 4. Divide the dough in two. Dust the work surface with flour and roll each piece into a thin sheet. Cut out circles with a glass, put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each one and press the edges together firmly. 5. Beat the egg for brushing. Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, brush them with egg and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 18 minutes, until lightly browned. Shape cookies with the remaining dough too; you can decorate them with a Christmas greeting. 6. Melt the dark chocolate with the milk in a double boiler for 5 minutes, stirring until smooth. Brush the cookies straight from the oven with chocolate and top with decorative sprinkles. Dust some of them with sugar and add pieces of Turkish delight.