These are family favorites! We love them any time of the year - but especially at Christmas!
(NOTE: - These can also be made into sliced cookies - like a biscotti.)
COOKIE INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons anise extract (almond, vanilla or lemon can also be used!)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoons milk
ICING INGREDIENTS
2 cups confectioners'
sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon anise extract (optional)
food coloring (optional)
sprinkles of your choice(optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cookie sheets or pans by covering them with parchment paper.
2. To prepare these Italian
Christmas cookies, get a large bowl and combine the butter and sugar together
until the mixture is light and fluffy, which should take anywhere between 3 and
5 minutes. Crack in each egg, making sure to mix well after each one. Add your
choice of extract.
3. Now combine the flour
and baking powder, sifting it together so that there are no chunks of baking
powder together. Take about a third of these dry ingredients and add them to
the wet ones, using a hand or stand mixer to combine them. Then add about a
tablespoon of milk. Repeat this process by adding another third of the flour
mixture to your batter, and then another spoon of milk. The last batch of flour
should be added very slowly, mixing in between so that you can determine how
much flour is enough.
(NOTE: You want the batter to be very easy to mold, but not sticking
to your hands. The dough should not be stiff! If you add too much flour, try
adding a few more drops of milk until the batter is easy to manage.)
4. Using a tablespoon, drop
balls of the batter onto the baking sheets, leaving space for them to bake and
puff up in the oven. Stick your pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes
or until they puff up and the bottoms begin to turn a light golden brown.
5. While the cookies are
baking, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and extract of your choice.
After the cookies have mostly cooled,
hold each one upside down and dip into your frosting glaze. flip it over and
let it rest on a flat surface covered with wax paper, then sprinkle them, or
else the frosting will harden and sprinkles will no longer stick.
(NOTE: If your frosting begins to harden before you are done dipping just microwave it for about 10 seconds to let melt again!)
