Figolli (Maltese Easter Pastries)
Figolli (singular Figolla) are the typical Maltese sweet for Easter. They are prepared in batches and given as gifts to friends and family. The shape of the Figolla is traditionally an Easter related figure, but today one can buy commercially produced figolli in all shapes. See below for how to get the right shapes. This recipe is for preparing plain figolli, but they should always be decorated with either a…
Ingredients
Pastry
- 800 g self-raising flour
- 200 g margarine
- 200 g white granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 orange, zested
- 2–3 tablespoons water
Filling
- 200 g pure ground almonds
- 100 g white granulated sugar
- 125 ml water
Steps
Dough
- Sift the flour into a bowl. Rub in the margarine until powdery.
- In a separate container, mix the eggs and sugar until well blended. Mix in the orange zest.
- Fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture.
- If needed, add water drop by drop to form a dough. Too much ruins the pastry.
Filling
- In a small skillet, gently heat the water. Dissolve all the sugar into it.
- Bring to the boil once the sugar has dissolved. Immediately remove from heat.
- Stir the ground almonds into the hot sugar solution to form a paste.
- Flour a clean surface. Roll out about a quarter of the dough.
- Cut two identical figolli shapes. Remove the excess.
- Spread about a quarter of the filling on one shape, leaving a 1–2 cm border.
- Place the second shape on top, aligned.
- Press the edges all around to seal, wetting fingers with cold water if needed.
- Repeat for the other 3 figolli.
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Place a double layer of baking paper on a baking tray. Place the figolli on the paper.
- Bake until the top is golden and the edges start to darken, about 30 minutes.
Notes from the original
- To get the right shapes, you should use metal cut-out templates that are like cookie cutters but larger. Alternatively, a printable template is available. Print the picture on an A4 sheet of paper, then cut the shape with scissors. Stack 3–4 sheets of paper and glue them together for stiffness, or print on cardboard if your printer allows it. Place the cut-out on the pastry and follow it with the end of a very sharp pointed knife. While this will not give the finest results, the traditional Maltese figolla is expected to be modest in appearance, and only factory-produced ones are regularly shaped.
- These shapes are a rather small size of figgola, so with the above quantities your figolli might turn out a bit on the fat side compares to what is typical. On the other hand, the larger the ratio of filling to pastry the more tasty the figolla tends to be.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Figolli (Maltese Easter Pastries)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-10-26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Heart figolla.jpg by Silverlining at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.