Paola Bacchia’s Istrian Wedding Biscuits (Zucherancici Or Cukerancici)

When I was in Pisino/Pazin, I stopped at an old-fashioned bakery and, upon entering, said “Doberdan” (“Good day” in Croatian), quickly followed by “Parli Italiano?” (“Do you speak Italian?”).

Luckily the lady behind the counter did, so I asked if she had any traditional baked goods. She pointed to a sign that said cukerancici. At that point I had no idea how to pronounce Croatian words — what she was saying sounded like zuckeranchichi, which to my ear started with a “z”. But the word in Croatian started with a “c”, so I kept repeating the word the way I thought it should be pronounced (with a soft “c”), and she said it back to me with a “z” multiple times. It was hilarious. Italian Istrians call these biscuits zucherancici.

It was traditional to bake zucherancici for weddings and baptisms. Diagonal incisions are made in strips or rods of dough, using either a knife or a fluted pastry cutter, and the dough is then shaped into a circle, forming a flower or star. They are delicate and delicious.

While these sweet celebratory biscuits are still warm from the oven, they are dunked in Malvasia, the local wine, before being dusted with icing sugar. Malvasia is not that easy to find outside Europe, so I brush the freshly baked biscuits with a mix of white rum and grappa. If you prefer, you can omit this step and simply dust with icing sugar.

Extracted with permission from Istria by Paola Bacchia, $65, Smith Street Books