Italian Easter Cookies Biscotti Food

ITALIAN EASTER COOKIES (BISCOTTI)

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
• Cream together shortening and white sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, mixing well after each. Add 2 teaspoons anise extract and vanilla extract. Slowly add milk and mix until all ingredients are blended. Slowly add flour mixture, and mix until thick but creamy. Place dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Coat a work surface and hands with flour. Take a quarter-sized piece of dough and roll into a long narrow sausage shape. Form into desired shapes, such as "s" shapes, twists, candy canes, letters, etc. Cookies will puff up when baked, so be sure each cookie is only about the width of a pinky finger. Place cookies on a baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until light golden in color and golden brown on the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place confectioners' sugar in a bowl and add 2 teaspoons anise extract. Mix in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until icing is smooth and creamy and not too drippy. Coat cooled cookies with icing and top with sprinkles.

ITALIAN BISCOTTI COOKIES

Steps:

• In mixer blend butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time and mix together. Add whiskey, vanilla, anise flavor and mix.
• Sift flour, salt and baking powder and gradually add to above mixture. Blend well.
• By hand, mix in nuts and anise seed -- MIx well.
• On a greased cookie sheet, using two spatulas, make rows of dough about 1 1/2 inches wide, more or less. Use spatualr to make somewhat of a roll.
• Bake 350 degrees, about 20 minutes, until light brown. Take out and cool a bit (put next batch i9n oven.
• Slice first batch in diagonal slices, arrange cookies on each side, put back in oven and bake each side for 10-15 min ( until brown).

ITALIAN EASTER COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until totally combined, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and zest and mix to combine, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula then add all of the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides again if necessary, making sure not to overmix. Cover and refrigerate until the dough is completely chilled, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a rope, 5 to 6 inches long. Tie it into a loose knot and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. If the knots start to get warm, refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake on the upper and lower racks until the tops of the cookies are dry and set and the bottoms are golden, rotating the baking sheets front to back and switching rack positions, halfway through, about 15 minutes total.
• For the glaze and sprinkles: Meanwhile, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, salt and 1 tablespoon of the milk in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon milk if needed-the glaze should be the consistency of heavy cream.
• Place the sprinkles in a small bowl. Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, dip the tops in the glaze, letting any excess run off, then dip in the sprinkles. Transfer the cookies, glazed-side up, to a wire rack and let cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

CLASSIC ITALIAN ALMOND BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the 350-degree oven for 10 minutes, or until light golden and aromatic. Remove and set aside.
• In a large bowl, hand mix toasted almonds, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder and flour.
• In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Add the vanilla and orange zest and whisk until well-blended. Add to the flour mixture.
• Work the batter together with lightly floured hands. The mixture will be sticky, but persevere. Keep squeezing the batter with your hands until a dough starts to form. Once the dough is firm, form it into a ball. Divide the ball into four equal pieces.
• Place one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, roll it into a log that is approximately 8 inches long, 2 inches wide and 3/4 of an inch high. Repeat with remaining three pieces of dough. Place two logs on each baking sheet. Brush loaves all over with egg wash.
• Bake for 40 minutes, rotating pans midway through. The tops of the loaves will be shiny and deep golden. Cool on a rack for about 20 minutes.
• Place a loaf on a cutting board, and using a large serrated knife, slice cookies 3/4 of an inch thick on the diagonal. If the cookie crumbles, let it cool for a few more minutes. Don't let it rest too long, however, or it could become too hard to slice.
• Place slices on their sides back on the baking sheets. Place in the still-warm oven with the temperature off and the door closed for 30 to 60 minutes. The longer they stay in the oven, the harder they will become. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an air-tight container, preferably a metal tin, which helps keep them crisp. Stored properly, biscotti will last up to a month.