Italian Christmas Cookies

Well everyone, it's that time of year again. The time of year where your pants get a little tighter and you constantly find yourself saying "I'll just have one more, just one." And then that one turns into 5. Ah, the Holiday gluttony, you are delicious. With that being said, my schedule of Holiday parties kicked off with a lovely gathering of all the faculty/staff and grad students in the HPL. It's a tradition we do every year, in which everyone brings something, so it turns into quite the potluck. From pulled pork to enchiladas to pumpkin cookies to kettlecorn, we had it all. This year I decided to make anisette cookies. They are my favorite Italian cookie and remind me of when I was little. When you're little, anything with sprinkles and/or frosting is appealing, but now that I am older and have a much more sophisticated palette (insert sarcastic grin here), I look for recipes with layers of flavor...who am I kidding, I still love the frosting and sprinkles. Anywho, these were super easy to make and you can let the dough sit in your fridge for a day or two if you find that you don't need to make a lot all at once. I think they are also a very good kid-friendly recipe. Simple enough dough and what kid wouldn't love dipping cookies in frosting and sprinkles. Perhaps I will make some more with my niece when I go home for Christmas!



Ingredients:

Dough:

3 cups flour
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tblsp vanilla extract
2 tblsp anise extract

Frosting:

*First, heat up 1 tblsp butter, 1 tblsp water and 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a sauce pan. Don't bring to boil, just simmer and dissolve the sugar into a nice smooth mixture.

Then take about 2 tblsp of this mixture and combine with more powdered sugar (not over heat, just in a separate bowl). Add more sugar/liquid as needed until you get a malleable white frosting. Make sure it isn't too clear, you want it to be nice and white for the sprinkles to pop out of.

They were so good even my cat, Dolce, wanted one! (above)

Combine all the dough ingredients and roll into small balls. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before dipping tops into the frosting. After the frosting has been added, sprinkle the colored sprinkles on top of each cookie. Allow to cool or eat warm if you would like!