Mostaccioli Italian Christmas Spice Cookies Recipes

MOSTACCIOLI

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
• For the cookies: In a food processor, pulse together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and the lemon and orange zests. Add the olive oil and butter and pulse until blended.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk, rum and egg until smooth. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until a stiff dough forms. With damp fingers, shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are firm to the touch, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, about 15 more minutes.
• For the icing: Put the chocolate chips and cream in a heatproof medium bowl and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Dip the cookies halfway into the icing, then return them to the racks and let set at room temperature until firm, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

MOSTACCIOLI DI MAMMA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Position rack in the center.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. (flour, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and cocoa).
• Add ground almonds and incorporate with the dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs for 2-3 minutes.
• Add honey. Continue to whisk until well thickened.
• Add sugar. Beat well.
• Add orange zest, juice and extract.
• Switch to paddle attachment. Add flour mixture until just combined. (Dough will be soft and sticky).
• Working with dough in small batches, place on well-floured wooden board and roll out to 1/4 - 1/2" thick.
• With a rhombus-shaped cutter or with a knife cut dough (I use a 2-inch cutter).
• Place on cookie sheets.
• Continue until all the dough has been shaped. Leftover dough trimmings can be re-rolled.
• Bake at 350° F for about 15-18 minutes or until firm to touch.
• Let cool completely before glazing with chocolate.

MOSTACCIOLI-ITALIAN CHRISTMAS SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse the almonds and sugar until the almonds are finely ground. Add the orange zest, flour cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves and pulse several times to mix. Cut the butter into 12 pieces and add to the work bowl. Pulse until the butter is mixed in (about 20-25 times).
• Ad the eggs and wine; pulse until the dough is evenly moistened, tough it probably will form one ball. Allow to stand for 1 minute to absorb the liquid, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. *I could not fit all the ingredients in my food processor. See recipe note above.
• Scrape the dough onto an oiled work surface and roll into a log, 12 inches long. Cut the log into six pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 12-inch cylinder, flatten slightly the palm of your hand, then cut each 12-inch cylinder diagonally into ten or eleven pieces and place the pieces on pans about 1 inch apart. Place the pans in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 300 degrees. Bake the cookies about 10-14 minutes, or until firm and light golden.
• Icing:
• Whisk the confectioners' sugar with the water and orange juice. Add the water a little at a time. If it is too thick, add a little more water a tablespoon at a time.
• Transfer the cookies to a rack and drizzle on the icing. I did two coats of the icing drizzle. The original recipe says to dunk the cookies in the icing. I wanted to see a little bit of the cookie color. Add some sprinkles.

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.