Italian Cookies With Icing Recipes

ITALIAN ANISE COOKIES WITH ICING AND SPRINKLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• For cookies, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add anise extract.
• Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding about 1/3 of these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in your mixer, then add 1 T. milk. Add another third of the flour and another 1 T. milk. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).
• Use a 1 T. cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies - use wet fingers to pat any rough edges OR for an Easter-Egg look, roll 1 T. dough into an elongated ball.
• Bake cookies 10-12 minutes (they won't be brown but the insides will be soft and cake-like).
• For icing: mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. HINT: When I make the icing, I make it thick but then I microwave it for 10 seconds so it is thin enough for dipping. Also, I like to divide the mixture in thirds, and then add ONE DROP of food coloring to each batch (pink, green, yellow).
• Hold cookie in your hand and turn upside down so you can dip the top half in the glaze; turn over and immediately top with sprinkles so they will stick.
• Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air-tight containers or freeze.

ICED ITALIAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until soft and creamy.
• Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
• Combine flour and baking powder, then blend into the butter mixture.
• Break off small, walnut sized pieces of dough and shape into bows, braids, knots,"s" shapes, or any shape you desire.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes.
• Cool on wire racks,then ice as desired.
• Icing: Blend sugar and your choice of flavoring, adding milk slowly to form a soft, smooth icing (some ice the cookies while they are still warm, others wait until they are cooled).
• Sprinkle with colored sugar or confettini (tiny multi-colored sprinkles) before icing sets.

ITALIAN COOKIES WITH ICING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift flour and baking powder together into a bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in almond extract. Add flour mixture, 1 cup at a time; mix on low speed until incorporated. Roll batter into teaspoon-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in batches in the preheated oven until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While cookies are baking, beat confectioners' sugar, milk, and almond extract for icing in a bowl until smooth.
• Set cooled cookies close together on a cookie sheet. Frost with icing and sprinkle with nonpareils.