Italian Christmas Cookies
On the tenth day of cookies I slaved and baked for thee, traditional Italian Christmas Cookies!
The tenth recipe has been a doozy to say the very least. No, the recipe is not hard but my family’s recipe is a very old one dating back to when my Italian relatives came to this country. The directions were very minimal and that is really putting it lightly. I had to figure out timing, textures, the icing technique; it has been quite the journey. But here we are and they turned out great with only a few tears shed during this taxing process. I recreated what I remembered from childhood and the results are a beautifully bouncy cookie with a rustically decorative top.
Italian Christmas Cookies
3 large eggs
1 ½ TBSP whole milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 bottle Anise extract (optional)
Powder Sugar Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 TBSP whole milk, or more if needed
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, cream together all ingredients except for the flour and baking powder. Once the mixture is fluffy you can mix in the flour and baking powder. Mix the dough until smooth. With oiled hands, roll the dough into small balls.
Bake until the tops of the cookie are pale and white, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
Icing: Once cooled, whisk powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Add milk to the powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired icing consistency. Top cookies with powdered sugar icing and add Christmas sprinkles if desired.
Leave cookies on wire racks so the icing can dry, leave for at least 24 hours before storing in an airtight container.
*Notes:
It is very important to not overmix your cookie batter. You want to just mix in the flour enough to make sure it’s fully incorporated.
If you don’t wait the full 24 hours for the icing to dry the icing will seep into the cookies. This will make the cookies slimy and unpalatable, not very delicious at all!