Glazed Italian Spice Cookies Recipes

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and cloves; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts., Shape level tablespoons of dough into balls; place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For glaze, in a large bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, corn syrup and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Dip tops of cookies into glaze; if desired, decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until set. Store between pieces of waxed paper in airtight containers.

GLAZED ORANGE SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and salt.
• Beat the shortening and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Mix in the chopped almonds and orange zest. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until combined.
• Transfer the cookie dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it into a rectangle about 13 inches long. Cut the dough into 3 1/2-inch rectangles using a fluted pastry wheel or sharp paring knife. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheets, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Combine the sifted confectioners' sugar, the orange marmalade, and the orange juice and stir well. Spread the glaze on the cookies and garnish with sliced almonds, if desired.

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa, cloves, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
• In a large separate bowl mix together eggs, sugar, oil, milk and vanilla.
• Add flour mixture to wet mixture in small batches and mix until combined.
• Add chocolate chips and chopped almonds. Dough will be very stiff.
• With lightly oiled hands, continue to mix the dough till all ingredients are incorporated. Wash hands thoroughly.
• Lightly oil your hands again so the dough won't stick to them and break off pieces of dough, rolling them with your palms into balls the size of walnuts.
• Arrange on prepared baking sheet 2" apart and bake for 10 minutes.
• Once cooled, dip the top of each cookie into the chocolate glaze. While still wet garnish tops with a few sliced almonds.
• When set, re-dip the bottom of each cookie back into the chocolate glaze and let set again.
• While still slightly wet, generously dust or roll each cookie into 1 cup powdered sugar.
• Set aside to dry before stacking.
• Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

ITALIAN HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and 2 cups flour; mix well. Turn onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour (dough will be soft). With a floured knife or scissors, cut into 20 pieces. With hands, roll each piece into pencil shapes. Cut "pencils" into 1/2-in. pieces. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 350°. Fry pieces, a few at a time, for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Place in a large bowl. Heat honey to boiling; pour over cookies and mix well. With a slotted spoon, spoon onto a serving platter and slowly mound into a tree shape if desired. Decorate with candy sprinkles. Cool completely.

ITALIAN SPRINKLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Using a heavy-duty mixer, beat eggs on high speed until light and foamy, about 5 minutes; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and baking powder; on low speed, gradually beat in shortening and extracts until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Gradually add beaten eggs (dough will be stiff). , Roll dough into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes (tops of the cookies will not brown, but bottoms should brown slightly). , Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and extracts until smooth. As soon as cookies are removed from the oven, quickly dip 2 or 3 at a time into glaze. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs; place on wire racks to drain. Immediately top with sprinkles. Let dry for 24 hours before storing in airtight containers.