Mom's Traditional Italian Cookies

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• 12 cups flour
• 12 large eggs
• 1 lb butter or 1 lb margarine
• 4 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons almond extract (or anise)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• milk
• 1 dash almond extract

Recipe

• 1 for cookie dough: cream butter & sugar.
• 2 beat in eggs, baking powder, extracts and 3 cups of flour.
• 3 add remaining flour until a stiff dough forms.
• 4 chill dough for at least an hour to make it easier to work with.
• 5 at this point you can form the dough into knots (small for cookies- larger knots yield egg biscuits) or roll out the dough and use cutters.
• 6 bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°.
• 7 for glaze: i put about 2 cups of powdered sugar in a bowl, add the extract (just a splash) and a little milk.
• 8 then i mix and add more milk until it gets to a smooth consistency- i don't like it too runny.
• 9 should be like the consistency of a thick alfredo sauce.
• 10 once cookies are cooled, dip the tops of each one into the glaze, or drizzle glaze over the cookies, and allow to dry completely.
• 11 can be topped with colored sugar or sprinkles, your choice.