Italian Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipes

TENDER ITALIAN SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Shape dough into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool., For icing, in a small bowl, combine milk, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Tint with food coloring if desired. Dip tops of cookies in icing; allow excess to drip off. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, add the cold butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix at low speed for a few seconds until the butter is all chopped up.
• Add the egg, flour, and baking powder and mix again for a minute or two until the dough starts coming together.
• Divide the mix into 2 bowls and in one add the cocoa powder. Knead well with your hands until the dough comes together into a smooth and solid ball. At this point, it shouldn't crumble anymore.
• Cover both doughs in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk so it will be easier to roll out.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven at 350°F / 180°C.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and place it on a wooden board or table dusted with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin about 1/4 inch (6mm) thick and cut out the shapes with cookie cutters.
• Transfer the cookies to a lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
• Take them out of the oven and transfer them immediately (carefully!) to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely before you decorate them.
• You can melt a couple of tablespoons of dark chocolate for a minute in the microwave and drizzle the melted chocolate on the cookies with a teaspoon.

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in ricotta and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. , In a large bowl, cream together butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies and immediately decorate with sprinkles. Store in the refrigerator.

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Firstly, sift the flour and baking powder together into a bowl.
• Then, in a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and add vanilla, then pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix.
• Knead and add flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to hands. Pinch off dough, roll in your hands to form a log and then twirl into shape. Place on greased cookie sheets.
• Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
• Combine the next 3 ingredients until creamy.
• Dip cookies into icing and sprinkle with trim. Place on wire rack with wax paper on counter to collect the dripping icing and sprinkles.

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt.
• In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, softened butter, ricotta cheese and lemon peel with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until fluffy; scrape side of bowl. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until smooth. Stir in vanilla. On low speed, beat flour mixture into sugar mixture until well blended. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Using floured fingers, shape dough into 54 (1-inch) balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons lemon juice with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too stiff to spread, add additional lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time. Tint with food color. Using knife, spread 1/2 teaspoon frosting on each cooled cookie; immediately top with sprinkles. Let stand about 30 minutes or until frosting is set. Store covered in airtight container at room temperature.

ITALIAN ANISE COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat eggs together in a large bowl. Gradually stir white sugar into beaten eggs until smooth. Slowly pour vegetable oil and anise oil into sugar mixture until incorporated. Mix flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl; slowly add to sugar mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough is dry.
• Refrigerate dough, 30 minutes to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Roll dough into walnut-size balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are crisp around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
• Mix confectioners' sugar and milk together in a bowl until desired consistency is reached. Dip a fork into the icing and drizzle over cookies. Allow icing to harden.

ITALIAN RAINBOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Arrange 2 racks in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Make room in your refrigerator for 1 half-sheet pan. Grease 3 (13-by-9-inch) baking pans or quarter-sheet pans with cooking spray or a little oil, then line with parchment or wax paper. (This helps the paper stay in place.) Spray or oil the parchment.
• Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or with a hand mixer), or in a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer, break up the almond paste using a fork or your fingers. Add butter, sugar, egg yolks and almond extract. Using the paddle attachment, beat on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through. Turn off the mixer, add a third of the flour and salt, then beat on medium-low until just combined. Repeat with another third, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and continue until all the flour is added and incorporated. Transfer batter to a large bowl. Rinse and dry the mixing bowl.
• Add egg whites to the mixing bowl and beat on high speed with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, 30 to 45 seconds. Fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined.
• Remove one-third of the batter to one of the prepared pans. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan all the way to the edges. (This can get a little tricky, but have patience and take your time. The oil on the pan should help hold the paper in place, but if you're having trouble, hold the paper in place with one hand while you spread with the other.) Remove another one-third of the batter to a medium bowl and add a couple drops of green food coloring. Stir until blended, and add more to reach your desired shade. Transfer green batter to a prepared pan and spread evenly. Add a couple drops of red food coloring to the remaining batter, stir to combine, add more as needed, then transfer to the last pan and spread evenly. Firmly tap each pan on the countertop to release air bubbles.
• Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until the edges are barely browned, the tops are just set, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Immediately slide cakes from the pans onto racks using the parchment paper. Cool completely.
• Using the parchment paper, slide the green cake onto a half-sheet pan. In a small saucepan, heat preserves over medium until loose, then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Spread half of the preserves over the green layer, going all the way to the edge. Carefully flip the uncolored layer on top (use a large offset spatula to help), and remove the parchment paper. Spread with the remaining preserves. Top with the red layer and remove the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and place another rimmed baking sheet on top of the cookies. Transfer to the refrigerator, then top with heavy cans so the weight is evenly distributed. Refrigerate overnight.
• Melt half of the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 30-second bursts. Using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate on the top and to the edges, then refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Melt the remaining chocolate. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on a cutting board, then place on top of the cake and invert the cake onto the board. Spread the bottom with the remaining chocolate. Let cool for a few minutes, then use the tines of a fork to draw waves in the chocolate and add sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate until almost firm, but still slightly soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. (If you wait until the chocolate is fully set, the chocolate will crack when you cut.)
• Run a sharp knife under hot water, dry, then trim the edges and save for snacking. Cut the cake into 1-inch squares, running the knife under hot water and drying between cuts. Return to the refrigerator to set completely. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container with wax paper between layers. Allow to come to room temperature a bit before serving.

ITALIAN SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
• Add buttermilk, flavor extracts, baking soda and cream of tarter and blend well.
• Now by hand with a wooden spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time until the mixture is stiff.
• Drop from heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. If not icing you may press on the nuts or sprinkles now (or you can ice or frost and decorate with sprinkles after baking).
• Bake in a preheated 375F oven, center oven rack, 10 to 13 minutes or until cookie edges are slightly brown and tops look set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Overbaking cause dry, hard cookies.
• Carefully remove to rack to cool. Frost or decorate as desired.
• Notes: recipe may be halved, cookies freeze well, for best baking use an insulated baking sheet as these tend to burn on the bottom. Store airtight.