ITALIAN PIZZELLES
Caveat: You need an electric pizzelle iron, preferably non-stick. (Similar to a waffle iron.)
Batter: 6 eggs; 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar; 1 and 1/4 cups of canola oil; 1 T baking powder; 1 T anise seed; 3 cups of flour.
In electric mixer, beat after adding each ingredient to the bowl. Use an especially high speed for beating eggs and egg-sugar mixture.
Method: Turn on pizzelle iron (close to highest temp); using brush, coat teflon surfaces w/canola oil before iron is fully heated, then allow to heat some more. Drop about a silver-dollar size amt of batter onto each section of pizzelle iron; close lid, press down lightly and heat for 30-60 seconds, until light golden.

Italian Sprinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

* 3 eggs
* 2.5 cups flour
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 tbsp plus 3/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1.5 tsp almond extract
* 1 tsp lemon extract

GLAZE:

* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1/4 cup warm milk
* 1/2 tsp almond extract
* 1/2 tsp lemon extract
* Colored sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat eggs on high speed until light and foamy, about 5 minutes, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and baking powder. On low speed, gradually beat in shortening and extracts until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. Gradually add beaten eggs (dough will be stiff).
5. Roll dough into 1" balls and place 2" apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.
7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and extracts until smooth (Add additional sugar to make frosting thicker).
8. As soon as cookies are removed from the oven, quickly dip into the glaze and place on wire racks to drain.
9. Immediately top with sprinkles.
10. Let dry completely before storing in airtight containers.

Yield: About 3.5 dozen

Almond Squares

Base:
l cup flour
2 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup softened butter

Topping:
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
l tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crumb together the first 3 ingredients.
Pat into bottom of a well greased brownie pan (10 3/4 in. x 7 in.) Bake 10 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients and spread on top. Continue baking for another 15 - 20 minutes. Cool.
Cut into squares then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
24 pieces

Crumb together the 1st

CHRISTMAS NUTBALLS (w/vegan alternative).
Cream together: 1 cup butter OR 1 cup Smart Balance original (vegan) and 3T powdered sugar.
Add: 2 cups flour; 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix.
Add: 1 T cold water and 1 and1/2 tsp. vanilla. Mix.
Add: 1 cup chopped walnuts.
Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 20 min. or until light tan.
Remove from cookie sheet and roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

AUSTRIAN CHOCOLATE BALLS

Melt carefully: 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate and 1/3 cup butter.

Stir in: 1 cup sugar; 1 egg and 1 egg yolk; 1/2 tsp almond extract

Add: 1 and 1/3 cup sifted flour; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Form into 3/4-in. balls on ungreased cookie sheet (1 in. apart). Bake at 350 deg. F for 8-11 min (until firm to touch). Do not overbake.

After taking cookie sheet out of oven, remove cookies immediately. Dip into frosting (or spread on).
Frosting (enough for double batch):
Mix together: 1 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted; 1 T butter; 1/4 tsp almond extract; 1 cup confectioner's sugar; 2-3 T milk.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen large cookies; 7 dozen smaller ones.

1 ¾ C. all-purpose flour (can replace ½ C whole wheat flour)
2 ½ C.quick or old fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt 2 C. semi-sweet chocolate
1 ¼ C. packed brown sugar morsels
1 C. (2 sticks) butter, softened 1 C. coarsely chopped
½ C. granulated sugar (walnuts or almonds) toasted
2 large eggs ½ C. Heath English Toffee Bits*
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugars in large
bowl until creamy—3 to 4 minutes at high speed. Beat in eggs, milk, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels, nuts and toffee bits. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. Drop in rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets or silpat.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies.
Cool on baking sheets for one minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in tins. May be frozen. (Tastes great just out of the freezer.)
Warning: Highly addictive.

*Can be found in the baking section at your supermarket.

From my blog "McCarra-Fitzpatrick Cookery"

http://mccarra-fitzpatrick.blogspot.com

Irish Christmas Cake:

2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons mixed spice: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and mace
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups molassas
6 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1 pound currants
1 pound golden raisins
1 1/2 cup dark raisins
3/4 cup candied peel
1 cup chopped figs
1 cup chopped dates

*The butter and eggs should be at room temperature.

*A pan of water should be placed under the baking cake.

Sift together baking powder, flour, mixed spice, and salt. Set aside. Cream butter, brown sugar, and molassas. Beat in eggs one at a time and add one tablespoon of the flour mixture every time you add an egg. Add the remaining flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well. Mix fruit mixture into creamed mixture and mix well. Line tin with several layers of greased brown paper. Top with a greased round of brown paper, to prevent overbrowning. Bake at 325 degrees farenheit for one hour then reduce temperature to 300 degrees farenheit for 4 1/2 to 5 hours until inserted knife comes out clean. Remove paper lid in the last hour.

I know that everyone makes fun of fruitcake, including my husband and my children, but this is actually a very nice cake for those who like dried fruit and spices.

Typically, after they are baked I wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then foil and let them sit for a month -- or at least a few weeks -- this helps the flavors to mellow and deepen somewhat, I think.

I've never put liquor/whiskey into a cake because I don't think it is really needed--the eggs/fruit make it moist enough, in my opinion.

MaryAnn McCarra-Fitzpatrick
Mount Vernon, New York

914-699-9668

mccarrafitz@hotmail.com

Panforte

Pan Lining:
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ground almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts

Preheat oven to 300° F and adjust oven rack to center position. Brush an 8-inch cake pan or an 8-inch springform pan with butter. Place an 8-inch sheet of rice paper on the bottom of the pan. Brush paper with butter. In a small bowl, combine flour and nuts. Scatter mixture evenly over sides and bottom of the pan. Pat gently into place.

Cake:
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dates cut into small pieces
1/2 cup candied orange peel, cut into small pieces
1 cup almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts toasted and coarsely chopped

Topping:
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For final presentation:
sifted powdered (confectioner’s sugar) sugar

To toast nuts, preheat oven to 325° F. Place nuts in a single layer in an ungreased shallow baking sheet. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice during toasting to aid in even browning. Remove from oven and let cool. If using hazelnuts, let the nuts cool for 4 to 5 minutes then rub vigorously to remove skins.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour and spices, set aside.

In another small bowl, combine the ingredients for the topping.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine honey and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture comes to a full boil. Stir in dried fruit and candied fruits and nuts. Sift in flour mixture; stir until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth top with a spatula. Sift reserved cinnamon-flour mixture over the top. Place cake in center of middle oven rack. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Loosen from pan by running a small knife around perimeter (if using a Springform Pan, remove sides of springform pan). Invert onto a wire rack, letting excess cinnamon and flour fall away. Use knife to peel away the rice paper. Invert panforte again and transfer onto a wire rack. Dust top with powdered sugar.

When cool, it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and stored in an airtight container for several weeks or frozen for up to six months. Serve at room temperature. Before serving, dust lightly with additional powered sugar. Cut into small wedges to serve.

Makes 16 servings.

Variations:
Chocolate Panforte - Add 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate to honey and sugar mixture after it is removed from the heat.
Dried Fruit Panforte - Substitute dried figs or apricots or raisins

Diamants ( Diamond Studded Circles)
colored sugars ( green red purple yellow etc)
1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup of soft butter 1/2 tea vanilla 1 3/4 cups flour pinch of salt,egg yolk. Mix sugar and butter together till creamy. add vanilla add flour and salt. Do not overmix and roll dough into logs. Into the frig. Remove logs from frig and paint with egg yolk and roll on plate of colored sugar. Refrig again. Cut into thin circles and bake in hot oven 400 till the bottom of cookie is golden brown about 10 minutes

I make dozens of holiday cookies for family all over the US in holiday tins. These cookies provide alot of color and taste great and are easy to make. Others cookies in the repetoir include Chocolate Cracks,Pizzels, Orange Cranberry Oatmeal,Ginger, Thumb Prints.

Hi there,

I just recently moved from Germany to New York.
So I am not to sure about the ‘baking language’ let alone English and of course the measurements, ounces and tablespoons and cups and so forth.

Still I wanted to share my most cherished cookie recipe with you, so here we go:

Elmar’s Black Forest Cheekie Boyz, for all ages
(Adult version (at the end of the recipe) contains alcohol)
Ingredients sufficient for approx. 75 cookies
Cookies contain Nuts

Ingredient liquid grams liquid ounces / American spoons and cups comments

Sugar, granulated 200 7.04 oz / 0.9 cups
Almonds, powdered 125 4.25 oz / 0.8 cups
Hazelnuts, powdered 125 4.25 oz / 0.8 cups can be replaced by powdered almonds
Flour, all purpose, bleached, sifted 200 7.04 oz / 1.42 cups
Cocoa, powdered 10 0.3 oz / 2 teaspoons
Cinnamon, powdered 5 0.15 oz / 1 teaspoon
Cloves, powdered 5 0.15 oz / 1 teaspoon
Vanillasugar, granulated 25 0.9 oz / 3 level tablespoons
1 Egg, U.S. large 55 2 oz
Butter, unsalted 250 9 oz / 1.1 cup room temperature
Lemon peel, of one lemon, grated
* * * *
Raspberry jam 175 6.2 oz / 0.75 cups
Sugar, powdered 80 2.75 oz / 1 cup
* * * *

Conversion formula, approximations only

To convert grams to ounces multiply the grams by 0.0352
To convert liters to US quarts multiply the liters by 0.95
1 tablespoon equals 15 liquid grams
1 teaspoon equals 5 liquid grams
1 cup equals 227 liquid grams
5 ounces of flour, all purpose, bleached, sifted, equals 1 cup or 140 liquid grams
4 ounces of powdered almonds or powdered hazelnuts equal ¾ cup or 115 liquid grams

Equipment needed

1 Food processor
Cookie form, ring or flower shape, approximate diameter 4 cm / 1.6 inches
Dough roller
Baking paper
Baking rack
powdered sugar dispenser

Preparing the dough
Mix all dry ingredients and lemon peel
add softened butter in 1 oz pieces
add egg

Mix all ingredients in food processor using heavy dough kneading tool,
first on low, then, when all flower is absorbed, on high,
form dough into a ball and wrap dough in aluminium foil,
place in refrigerator for 2 hours

***

Baking

lightly powder workplace with flower,
roll out portion of dough to thickness of 3 mm / 0.075 inches,
using cookie form, cut out equal number of rings or flowers,
place ¼ teaspoon of raspberry jam on half the cookies,
cover each raspberry cookie with another cookie and press top cookie around the edge onto the bottom cookie, thereby lightly covering the jam

place on baking sheet and rack,
preheat oven to 200° c / 390° Fahrenheit,
bake on middle level for approx. 10 minutes or until browning,
remove from oven and place on cooling rack,
when cooled down, sprinkle with powdered sugar,
repeat with rest of dough
When cold, sprinkle with powdered sugar,
ENJOY – don’t eat all at once or best, share with friends.

(Elmar’s Black Forest Cheekie Boyz taste best a few days after baking, an ideal cookie for the holiday season)

Attention Adults only

To turn the cookies into Elmar’s Black Forest Wild and Crazy Boyz add 3 tablespoons of 40% Kirschwasser / Cherry water when mixing the egg and butter into the dough, and use Blueberry Jam instead of Raspberry Jam!
These Wild and Crazy Boyz are for adults only

Variation on Springerles

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
4 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 1/2 t anise extract
1 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cinnamon
dash salt

Beat eggs until very light and fluffy
Gradually add sugar; beat for 15 minutes (do not underbeat)
Add extract and spices; mix well
Fold in flour

Using flour liberally, roll dough 3/8-inch thick and use cookie cutters or springerle molds or springerle rolling pin to fashion shapes.

Place cookies on greased and floured cookie sheet and leave uncovered overnight. Cookies can be placed very close to each other as they will not spread.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cookies in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 300.

Bake for 15 minutes. Do not brown.

Make 2 to 3 weeks in advance in order for flavor to mellow. They can be left in non airtight containers so that they harden throughout and be used for dipping in coffee, tea, or milk.

I think of these as cookies for adults. They're not terribly sweet and fat free but are filling because they're so dense. I vary the spices I use such as cardamom/clove or lemon/clove.

They last virtually for ever.

PerlGirlBaking.com makes the absolutely best rugelach (really), if you don't have time to make your own.