Raivas are cinnamon butter cookies from the Beira Litoral region of Portugal. Beira Litoral is in the north-central part of the country. The major city is Coimbra, home to the country’s oldest university.
More information on Coimbra and Beira Litoral.
Raivas have a nice cinnamon flavor without being overly sweet. They come out of the oven crisp and are perfectly paired with coffee or tea. Shaping these cookies can be a fun activity for children. I can’t wait until Evan is old enough to make these with me. I am not sure on the history of the cookies, but their name means ‘rage’ or ‘anger’ in Portuguese, maybe due to their shape?
I found these raivas in A Baker’s Tour: Nick Malgieri’s Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World. Nick Malgieri compiled over 100 multicultural bread, cake, pastry, cookie, and pie recipes. He has adapted these recipes for the American kitchen. In addition to the raivas, I have also tried the Pane Ticinese (Olive Oil Bread from Ticino) and Kringler (Danish Salt Pretzels).
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with racks set on the upper and lower thirds. Lightly grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the cinnamon flour with a spatula, just until incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix or the dough will get tough.
On a lightly floured surface, fold the dough a couple of times to smooth it out, then divide into 6 equal pieces, then halve the pieces two more times to create 24 equal pieces.
Create each cookie by rolling each piece into a long rope, as close to 20 inches as possible. Seal together the ends and place on prepared baking sheet. Crinkle the circle of dough towards the center to create the irregularly shaped raivas. Repeat with remaining pieces.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, changing the pans to opposite racks after 6 minutes, until golden and firm.
Let cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container for up to one week.
Adapted from A Baker's Tour: Nick Malgieri's Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World
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