Italian Orange Cookies Food

ITALIAN ALMOND-ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, sugar, orange zest and honey with a whisk until smooth.
• Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until moist and all of the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet and combined.
• Cover and refrigerate for one hour and as long as 24 hours. I made my dough the night before then baked the next morning.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F with two racks in top two positions.
• Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
• Roll the dough on your counter with your hands into a fat log and cut it into two equal pieces.
• Roll each piece out into logs and cut in half then each piece in half again. Then cut each piece into three. This will give you 24 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a ball then roll in the powdered sugar then onto the cookie sheets, 12 per tray.
• Bake both together for 15-17 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.
• The cookies are done when they start to crackle and flatten out and are slightly browned on the bottom. The centers will be very soft so don't go by the feel of the cookie and don't lift off the cookie sheet yet.
• As they cool on the cookie sheet, they stiffen up and have a crisp outside and a chewy center.
• Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

ITALIAN ORANGE JUICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350F. Have maraschino cherries and/or almonds ready, if using.
• Stir together all-purpose flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add vegetable shortening. Cream the shortening on low speed, about 30 seconds.
• With the mixer running on low speed, gradually spoon in the sugar until the mixture is creamy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, until each egg is fully incorporated in the mixture. Add the orange zest; orange juice; vanilla and mix until smooth.
• With the motor running on low speed, gradually add all the flour mixture and mix until a thick, sticky dough is formed.
• Use a 1 tbsp. cookie scoop or 2 spoons to scoop the sticky dough and drop into a bowl with powdered sugar. Coat all sides with the powdered sugar.
• Carefully pick up the dough, and without applying too much pressure, roll it into a ball.
• Place on the baking sheet approximately two inches apart. The cookies will spread during baking.
• At this point you may leave the cookies as is or gently press a maraschino cherry half or almond in the center of each cookie.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly browned underneath and golden on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving or storing.

ITALIAN ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream the shortening then beat in the juice, sugar, orange extract and orange zest (mixture will appear curdled) until well combined. Blend in the eggs and beat well.
• Mix in all of the baking powder and flour, 1 cup at a time, blending well. Once you've added 6 cups of flour, add the remaining flour just until mixture can be rolled into a ball (batter will be sticky).
• Refrigerate the dough covered for several hours or even overnight.
• Fill a low dish with sifted icing sugar. Using a small cookie scoop. scoop several balls of the cold dough into a plate. Roll the cookies into a smooth ball then roll in the icing sugar. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 " apart.
• Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, rotating the baking trays half way through the baking process. Do not overbake, cookies should be light in colour.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH ITALIAN ICED ORANGE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 1 minutes until well combined. Turn mixer to medium-low speed and add in egg (make sure it's at room temp -- you can do this by running the egg under warm water for 1 min); beating until well combined, smooth and creamy into the butter and sugar. Next beat in the orange juice, zest and almond extract for about 30 more seconds.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and mix together on medium speed until combined.
• Drop about one heaping tablespoon full of dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. You should end up with 14-16 cookies. Bake for 10-13 minutes until just barely golden brown on the edges.
• Remove and allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
• To make the icing: Once cookies have cooled, make the icing: add the powdered sugar, orange juice, zest, melted butter and softened cream cheese to a bowl. A drop of almond extract is also delicious in the icing, but please only do one drop if you'd like. Dip the top of the cookies in the icing then place back on the wire rack to allow icing to harden. Garnish with a little extra orange zest to make them pretty. Makes about 14-16 cookies.

ORANGE RICOTTA COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together the ricotta, granulated sugar, butter and egg and in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flour, baking powder, vanilla and orange zest and mix on low until a smooth dough forms. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough and arrange them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating halfway through, 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets, 20 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk until a smooth glaze forms. Dip the tops of cooled cookies, and let sit until the glaze hardens.
• Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, or frozen for 3 weeks.

ITALIAN ORANGE-FIG COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place almond paste, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Add preserves and 1 egg white at a time, pulsing after each addition to combine. Transfer almond mixture to a large bowl; fold in figs and orange peel (dough will be sticky)., Place remaining sugars in separate shallow bowls. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough into sugar. Gently coat and shape into 1-1/4-in. balls. Repeat in confectioners' sugar. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 24-28 minutes or until tops are cracked and bottoms are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

ANGINETTES OR ORANGE JUICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream crisco and sugar until well blended, add eggs, mix well, then the extract & orange juice,blend in, then add the baking powder and baking soda, mixing well, finally adding the flour mixing well. Bake at 450 degrees. Preheat oven prior to baking. Bake for 5-6 minutes. Can leave in a minute longer for a very slightly browned cookie. Do Not Overbake, or they will be no good, as this is not a moist type of cookie.
• Drop by teaspoonful fairly closely set, as they do not really expand out. Depending upon "your teaspoonful size" you will get several dozen of these. Or you can roll pscs. into small logs and then spiral.
• Glaze:.
• Melt the butter in medium pan, adding all the other ingredients, whisking until sugar melts and it is heated through. Consistency should not be too loose nor too thick, should coat cookie evenly without a great deal of dripping. You can add additional small amounts of confectioners sugar if necessary to thicken a bit more.
• Apply glaze with spoon or dipping into the pan, and immediately sprinkle with the colored sprinkles. Let Dry.
• Note: I have on many occasions added an extra teaspoon of extract and a tad bit more of orange juice to both the cookie mix and the glaze for extra flavor. Hope you enjoy this little bit of Italian flavor!