Italian Sandwich Cookies Recipes

ITALIAN BUTTER COOKIES 1952

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixer bowl, cream lightly the butter and sugar until really fluffy and pale, about three minutes.
• Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
• At low speed add the combined dry ingredients and mix until just blended.
• Do not overmix.
• Place into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, pipe onto prepared parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing two inches apart.
• If dough is too thick to pipe, pour in a few tablespoons of milk.
• If you make wreath or stars, you can add a cherry as decoration now before baking.
• Or you could just roll into small bals and flatten with a fork if desired.
• Bake for 10 to 14 minutes just until the bottoms and edges begin to turn golden brown.
• Remove from pans by sliding thw whole piece of parchment onto a large wire rack, and cool completely.
• Dip fingers or one side of each into melted chocolate and sprinkles if desired.
• Sandwich with raspberry jam also if desired, dip in melted white chocolate and crushed almonds.
• Leave plain also.
• Store in an airtight container.

ITALIAN AMERICAN COOKIE SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and mix just until a dough forms.
• Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip, and fill the pastry bag with the cookie dough. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets into stars, spacing 1-inch apart. If desired, press about 4 miniature chocolate chips into the center of each star at this point. Bake the cookies until they are pale golden around the edges and on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.
• When the cookies have cooled, spoon approximately 1/4 teaspoon of preserves atop the flat side of 1 cookie. Press a second cookie onto the preserves. Repeat with the remaining cookies and preserves. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature.)
• Cook's Notes: Alternately, the cookies can be made into thumbprint cookies. To do so, refrigerate the dough until it is cold, about 2 hours. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough for each cookie into 1-inch-diameter ball. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie by pressing the back of a teaspoon into the cookies. Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry or raspberry preserves or chocolate chips, and bake as directed.
• A chilled chocolate ganache may be used in place of the preserves to fill the indentations in these cookies. To do this, do not fill the indentations before baking the cookies. While the cookies bake, make the ganache by mixing equal parts of warm cream and chocolate until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth, then chill the ganache. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, and the chocolate ganache is cold and firm but still spreadable, spoon or pipe the chilled ganache into the empty indentations on the cookies.

CHEWY AMARETTI SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large (17- by 12-inch) 4-sided sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Pulse almond paste and sugar in a food processor until broken up, then add egg whites and pulse until smooth. Transfer to pastry bag and pipe 3/4-inch rounds (1/3 inch high) about 3/4 inch apart in pans. Dip a fingertip in water and gently tamp down any peaks.
• Bake, rotating and switching position of pans halfway through, until golden and puffed, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Wearing an oven mitt, rest 1 pan in sink at an angle. Lift top edge of parchment and slowly pour about 1/4 cup water between parchment and sheet pan so that all of parchment is lightly moistened (water will steam on pan, moistening bottom of cookies to help them stick together later). Repeat with remaining sheet pan. Cool cookies in pans on racks.
• Peel cookies from parchment and sandwich bottoms of cookies together

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES - GIADA DE LAURENTIIS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the Chocolate Cookies, in a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar. In another medium bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal or polenta, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Press the dough into a 1-inch high round. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
• Roll out the dough to between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick. Use a 1 3/4-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Bake on a heavy baking sheet for 15 minutes. Place the baking sheets on a wire rack to cool cookies.
• Meanwhile, to make the Orange Filling, combine the butter, powdered sugar, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream the ingredients together.
• To assemble the cookie sandwiches, place about 1 teaspoon of the Orange Filling on a cookie. Top with another cookie and press the cookies together. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day.