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Cookie Love – Italian Cookies Recipe

March 26, 2009 By A 13 Comments

Have you ever seen cookies like these? They are called Italian Cookies, and maybe they are ordinary to you. But the very thought or sight of them, has always made my heart simply swell. The recipe will be below.

My Godmother has made these cookies for me, all of my life. I think she makes them a lot. She may even be known for them in the lives of many people who are in her life. But it doesn’t matter. Whenever she made them for ME, it always felt like such a gift of her love for me.

My Godparents are AMAZING people. Not just to me, but to anyone who knows them. They are the essence of unshakable faith, completely selfless sacrifice, sincere compassion, and always a lot of very unconditional love. As Godparents, they always gave all of those gifts to me. They also truly had a BIG part in forming the foundation of my faith. They were ALWAYS there for me. ALWAYS with some wise words, without judgement. ALWAYS lived an example of inspiration. I have always felt so blessed to be their Godchild. Even though I have always known, I am one of umpteen of Godchildren that they have. Again…a testament of the kind of people they are to everyone. But they have always made me feel like their only one. Now as a grown adult with children of my own, they give that same kind of love to my husband and my children. And my they all feel it, powerfully, just as I always did.

My Godmother is a retired teacher. I have spoken about her in this blog before, I am sure. In the years of her teaching, she reached the hearts of 100’s and 100’s of children. If you were in her student, you knew you were very sincerely loved. And she taught each one with all she had. She instilled in me the love for books, which thank God, my children have been able to embrace as well. When she retired from teaching, her grown former students from all over the world, came to give her their thanks, or sent notes of the beautiful impact she had had on their lives.

When I was a teenager with troubles on my mind, my Godmother was there to talk with me, and she made me these cookies. As an art student, when I came home for the weekend, she wanted me to come visit, and she made me these cookies. When my family and I go visit them, she has these cookies made for us. And when my mother died, she was there for me, and she made me LOTS and lots of these cookies.

So I don’t know if you have ever seen or tasted cookies like these. But whenever I think of them, see them, or taste them…..I am filled with the comforting feeling of her love.

{A} bakes A LOT. And lately, more than ever. I think baking posts like this will become quite regular from her, here on our blog, because it is a big part of her. I will share more about that another time. But suffice it to say, she got the recipe for these cookies from my Godmother, having grown up with her own sense of how special they were. So this is {A}’s post, sharing this Italian Cookies recipe, and how to make them. They are indeed delicious. But it’s the memories of love that the familiar taste of them bring, that we love even more.

~ Laura

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Hi Everyone! {A} here now. I am going to share with you how to make these cookies that are very special to us. You will find a printable version of this recipe at the end of the post.

Here is what you’ll need:

Participating Ingredients

4 C All Purpose Flour
1 C Sugar
2 Tbs. Baking Powder
4 Eggs
1/2C Land-O-Lakes Margarine
4 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 C Milk
Confectioners Sugar
A Little Extra Milk for Glaze* This cookie dough was formed by hand. But you can use a Kitchen Aid or other mixer, and it will be much faster.COOKIE DOUGH

In a large bowl, put in flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, margarine, vanilla, and milk. (Add your own special love.)

2. Mix it all together with fork at first. Once it starts to form, you can use your clean hands.

3. Flour a counter or big board.

4. Remove dough from bowl, and knead for 8-10 minutes, sprinkling the surface more if the dough starts sticking.

6. Grease baking sheets with vegetable oil. (You probably can use Pam Spray…if you’re a fan of that.)

7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

8. Grab a piece of dough, and begin to roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. You want it to be about the size of a chestnut.
(I decided the ones in the photo below are too big. I made them all smaller after Mama took a photo. But see how I am rolling them in my hands into balls.)

9. Place the dough balls on the cookie sheets, about an inch 1/2 apart, staggered. You will likely have more dough balls waiting for their turn in the oven.

10. Bake full sheets for 8-10 minutes. You want them to be pale, but if you are wondering if they are cooked enough, open one with knife and see if it is baked through well. If not, put back in for 1-2 minutes more, depending on how doughy they still were.

11. Remove from oven………and then place them each on a cooling rack.

GLAZE and SPRINKLES

12. In a small bowl, pour some confectioner’s sugar, and add a little milk. I don’t really measure the sugar or milk here. I recommend adding one tablespoon of milk at a time, and stir well. You want the glaze thick-ish. You will be surprised at how much powdered sugar you need!

13. Pour sprinkles into shallow bowl. Watch out, because these things are ridiculously bouncy!!!

14. Once the cookies are COMPLETELY COOLED, you can start glazing them. We just dunk the top of the cookie into the glaze, lift out, and really let it drip off as best as you can.

15. Place dunked cookies back on rack. The glaze needs to set a little.

16. Continue dunking cookies, but when keep checking the first ones you dunked, and once you see that the glaze on those is starting to become clear, they are ready for sprinkles! (If you sprinkle them when the glaze is too wet, the colors of the sprinkles will run, and your cookies will be a multi-colored mess. Kind of pretty anyway, but not what we are going for here!)

17. Now to get the sprinkles on the cookies, we think Mama’s Godmother shakes them on out of the container. She has patience like that. But this is how we do it:

Pretty easy, huh?

18. Keep glazing and sprinkling, putting them on the rack as you go.

19. Any air tight container is great storage for these. They are so pretty all together!

* This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies. But trust me, they go fast. (Especially if Mama is around these cookies.) Below is what was left after filling two larger containers.

ENJOY!!!

ENJOY!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe post! You can print it out below.

~ {A}

Cookie Love - Italian Cookies Recipe

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

40 mins

Italian Cookies Recipe Recipe Type : Baking Cuisine: Italian Author: House of Joyful Noise blog / houseofjoyfulnoise.com Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 6 Dozen

: House of Joyful Noise blog / houseofjoyfulnoise.com

: Cookies

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6 Dozen

Ingredients

4 C All Purpose Flour
1 C Sugar
2 Tbs. Baking Powder
4 Eggs
½C Land-O-Lakes Margarine
4 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
¼ C Milk
Confectioners Sugar
A Little Extra Milk for Glaze

Instructions

* This dough for this cookie recipe is formed by hand. You can also use a Kitchen Aid or other large mixer.
COOKIE DOUGH
In a large bowl, put in flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, margarine, vanilla, and milk. (Add your own special love.)
Mix it all together with fork at first. Once it starts to form, you can use your clean hands.
Flour a counter or big board.
Remove dough from bowl, and knead for 8-10 minutes, sprinkling the surface more if the dough starts sticking.
Grease baking sheets with vegetable or olive oil oil. (You probably can use Pam Spray...if you're a fan of that.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grab a piece of dough, and begin to roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. You want it to be about the size of a chestnut.
Place the dough balls on the cookie sheets, about an inch ½ apart, staggered. You will likely have more dough balls waiting for their turn in the oven.
Bake full sheets for 8-10 minutes. You want them to be pale, but if you are wondering if they are cooked enough, open one with knife and see if it is baked through well. If not, put back in for 1-2 minutes more, depending on how doughy they still were.
Remove from oven.........and then place them each on a cooling rack.
GLAZE and SPRINKLES
In a small bowl, pour some confectioner's sugar, and add a little milk. I don't really measure the sugar or milk here. I recommend adding one tablespoon of milk at a time, and stir well. You want the glaze thick-ish. You will be surprised at how much powdered sugar you need!
Pour sprinkles into shallow bowl. Watch out, because these things are ridiculously bouncy!!!
Once the cookies are COMPLETELY COOLED, you can start glazing them. We just dunk the top of the cookie into the glaze, lift out, and really let it drip off as best as you can.
Place dunked cookies back on rack. The glaze needs to set a little.
Continue dunking cookies, but when keep checking the first ones you dunked, and once you see that the glaze on those is starting to become clear, they are ready for sprinkles!
- (If you sprinkle them when the glaze is too wet, the colors of the sprinkles will run, and your cookies will be a multi-colored mess. Kind of pretty anyway, but not what we are going for here!)
Now to get the sprinkles on the cookies, we think Mama's Godmother shakes them on out of the container. She has patience like that. But we dip them in a bowl of the sprinkles.
Keep glazing and sprinkling, putting them on the rack as you go.
Any air tight container is great storage for these. They are so pretty all together!
ENJOY!

~~~~~

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Veggie Pockets – Lent Meatless Meal – Recipe

February 27, 2009 By Laura 5 Comments

Here’s a delicious meatless meal for the Fridays of Lent, or for any day, for either lunch or dinner! My kids love most vegetables, so these pocket sandwiches are always a real hit with them! They always cheer when they ask what we are having, and they always ask for 2nd one!

I didn’t take any photos in the early stages, as I usually do just for fun. But I think you’ll be able to follow along just fine without them.

Ingredients:

red peppers
zucchini
summer squash
broccoli
vegetable oil
American cheese
whole wheat pockets

~ Naturally, you can use any stir-fry type vegetables your family likes best.

1.) Wash *all vegetables well, of course. : )

*How many of each vegetable you use depends on your family size. Use your best judgement. Once it’s all in the pan you’ll get a better idea.

2.) Clean out red peppers, and dice.

3.) Zucchini and summer squash:

>>> a.) Cut off ends.

>>> b.) Cut length-wise in half

>>> c.) Cut again lengthwise, cutting halves into half. Now you have 4 quarters of lengthwise slices. (Aren’t I great at explaining these things? Maybe I should have taken photos of this part too. lol)

>>> d.) Now slice the quartered lengths the short way, about 1/4″ thick. You will have nice quarter-0f-a-slice pieces.

4.) Cut up broccoli into medium sized pieces, chopping off ends first. (You will chop it all up later.)

5.) Get broccoli going in a steamer. (We have a Black & Decker Handy Steamer. But you can steam however you do.)

6.) Heat a large stir-fry pan at medium-heat, and add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

7.) Add red peppers, zucchini and summer squash to pan, and stir up.

8.) Cook all vegetables in steamer and pan, to desired tenderness. (We call it done when fork inserts nicely. Be careful not to overcook.)

9.) Remove steamed broccoli from steamer, and put on cutting board.

With a large chopping knife, chop up into smaller pieces, and then add to the pan on stove-top, with other vegetables.

Stir all vegetables together.

So happy to-ge-THERRRRRRRR! (Name that tune!)

For pockets, we use this brand:

10.) Take a bread disc out, and cut in half.

11.) Lay some slices of American cheese in the pocket half. Break slices up to fit nicely. (Us grown-ups sometimes put some Pepper-Jack in too, for some kick! But it’s delicious just with American.).

12.) *Fill pocket up with vegetables.

* For the little ones, we don’t overload it, because it’s a wide/big pocket, and a little bit difficult to for little hands to handle. Reminders to eat over plate are a good idea, with these babies! But what falls to the plate can be eaten up with a fork, after.

** Us grown-ups really fill it up. : )

Filled just right for a kiddo.

13.) When they eat it all up, and ask for another, SAY YES!! A kid can never eat too many vegetables! : )

ENJOY!!

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One Fine Bread Maker! – A Homemade Bread Recipe

February 9, 2009 By Laura 10 Comments

That’s MY bread maker!

He’s a fine bread maker.

And a fine bread maker, too. lol

9_photos-of-making-homemade-bread

The bread we go through is crazy, and it’s seemed one of those things you can’t buy enough of, and it’ll go just as quick. We’re not ‘white bread’ people either, so what we spend on bread can get….tiresome. So a few weeks back, my hubby decided he’d try making some. After all, he makes a mean pizza dough. And he had a good book that his parents let us have. (I think. I’m afraid we borrowed it, and never returned it, but he says no.) Anyway, they’re experienced…everything makers.

Anyway….I can’t tell you how many loaves he has made now, in the past few weeks. He loves doing stuff like that anyway. (What a blessing. lol) The rest of us love eating it up!!

The recipe we use is a version of a James Beard bread recipe. However, we like to replace 1 cup of the flour called for, with some whole wheat flour, for a bit of a healthier and heavier bread.
We’re sharing our version of the recipe with you today, at the end of this post.
If you happen to have the old book Beard on Bread (shown above), you can find the original recipe Basic Home-Style Bread, on Page 30.

I took photos one Saturday or Sunday not long ago, along the way, from flour and yeast, to our home smelling like something possibly from Heaven. Is there ANYTHING that smells as good as baking bread?? Few things, I reckon.

Working together the flour, proofed yeast (with milk and sugar), and salt.

~~~~~~

Rising.

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Doubled and ready for round 2!

~~~~~~

{JM} is the lucky kid who was around to punch it down! These little things make them SO happy, you know.

~~~~~~

Kneading some more.

~~~~~~

Dividing for 2 loaves.

~~~~~~

Rising for a second time.

~~~~~~

Hanging around, just looking good, while the bread bakes in the oven. He was so tired, I could tell, having chopped a lot of wood that day too.

Beep! Beep! Beep! (Timer goes off.)

~~~~~~

Knock-knock-knock! It sounds done.

But when the kids hear the timer go off , and the knocking….they come calling, to check for themselves. Everyone has to get into the knocking, you know. These little things make them SO happy, you know. : )

Sounds ready!!

9_photos-of-making-homemade-bread

Not quite perfectly formed, but that’s what happens when kids help. The family love that went into them is perfect! And oh….if you could smell our home right about now. For those of you who bake bread daily (I know you’re out there..) you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who buy fresh baked bread, you know what I’m talking about too. It’s the smell of a bakery. lol

~~~~~~

Basic Home-Style Bread

Prep time

4 hours

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

4 hours 45 mins

A basic simple homemade bread, based on a James Beard recipe, adding some more wholesomeness with a bit of whole wheat flour, and lot of homemade love.

: House of Joyful Noise (.com) blog / Based on James Beard Recipe

: Baking

Serves: 2 loaves

Ingredients

1 package of active dry yeast
2 cups of warm milk (100 to 115 degrees, approximately)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup melted butter
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
~ 4 cups all-purpose flour
*additional flour as needed when kneading

Instructions

*NOTE: The directions below are all done by hand. However, if you have a Kitchen Aid or other large mixer, as we do now, it is much faster to make this dough!
Warm 2 cups of milk.
Add the yeast to ½ cup of warm milk, along with 2 tablespoons of sugar, and stir well until the yeast is completely dissolved. Allow yeast to proof.
Place the remaining milk, the melted butter, and the salt in a large bowl.
Stir in the flour, *1 cup at a time, with a wooden spoon.
*Start with first cup of whole wheat flour, and then for rest of recipe use all-purpose.
After the third cup of flour, add the yeast mixture.
Continue stirring in flour until the mixture is rather firm, which should take ~ 4 cups.
Remove the dough to a floured board or smooth surface, and knead, adding more flour as necessary if it gets sticky, until it is satiny and no longer sticky.
Butter a bowl and place the dough in it, turning and using your hands to coat all sides with the butter. Cover with a with a kitchen towel or other suitable covering.
Options for Rising:
Place covered dough bowl in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size (approx. 1.5 - hours)
-OR-
Heat oven to 170 degrees, and when it reaches temperature, turn the oven OFF, and place the covered dough bowl in the oven. ( ~ 1 hour)
Once dough is doubled in size, punch it down firmly 2 or 3 times, and return to floured surface.
Knead 4 or 5 minutes more.
Divide dough into 2 equal parts, and shape into loaves.
Place each in well-buttered 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans.
Cover and allow to rise again, in a warm, draft-free spot (or warmed/off oven again) until doubled in size.
When loaves are risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slash the loaves with a sharp knife.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when taped on with knuckles on the bottom.
Optional: Remove from pans and put them in oven a few more minutes longer to become crisped.
ENJOY!

What a delicious bread! Great for sandwiches. Toasted, is how I like mine.

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Hot Cider Drink Recipe – Wassail

January 22, 2009 By Laura 6 Comments

hot cider recipe

Many of you did indeed request the hot cider drink recipe, that was simmering on our stove the other day. Also known as Wassail. I must say, our kids can’t get enough of it. We all started a WICKED FUN project out in the bitter cold and snow today. (That’ll be coming up in a few days or so, on the blog here.) Soon after we came in to warm up, we decided to make another batch of this cider to enjoy. It smells and tastes SO good. We hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do.

Please note: The ingredient amounts listed below must make one-big-batch! We’ve been making it by halving the amounts, and it’s been plenty enough for at least 2 cups each, for our family of 6. But for many more people, it might be best to make the whole batch. This WOULD be a GREAT treat to serve, if you are entertaining a small party. I think guests would be impressed with such a delightful warm beverage, and appreciate it coming in from the cold too. So here it is. If you make it, let us know what the verdict is at your home!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spiced Cider Wassail

(Makes about 4 quarts)

2 quarts apple cider

1 quart orange juice

1 quart apricot nectar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

6 broken pieces of cinnamon

1 tablespoon whole cloves

one orange, sliced thin

one lemon, sliced thin

whole cloves

In a stainless steel pan, bring to a boil the cider, juices, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Transfer to a punch bowl if you’d like. Stud the orange and lemon slices with whole cloves and float them in the wassail. Serve in punch cups or small mugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I must admit, I haven’t used the word ‘Wassail’ yet. It’s a bit too fancy for my simple tongue. Not to mention my simple mind, because I had no idea what that word was. So since I was posting the recipe, I thought it might be wise to look it up first. Here’s the definition, for what it’s worth. But just feel free to call the drink whatever you want, like I do. : )

Main Entry:: ¹was·sail
Pronunciation:: \ˈwä-səl also wä-ˈsāl\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English wæs hæil, washayl, from Old Norse ves heill be well, from ves (imperative singular of vera to be) + heill healthy — more at was, whole
Date:: 12th century

1 : an early English toast to someone’s health 2 : a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, sugar, and usually baked apples and is traditionally served in a large bowl especially at Christmastime 3 : riotous drinking : revelry

CHEERS!!

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How to Make Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

January 21, 2009 By Laura 8 Comments

We thought you all deserved some nice treat ideas. So we’d like to share some steps on how to make chocolate dipped pretzels!
It’s a fun treat to make and eat!

Last year for our Christmas gathering with some family, we made these pretty pretzel rods drizzled with chocolate. Our visiting family even wanted to get in on the fun, and make their own! We simply melted chocolate, and drizzled it over the rod, slowly turning it as we did so. Then we sprinkled on some of our favorite decorative sprinkle balls!

This year, we’ve done something similar (a few times!), but with a TWIST!! : )

Participating Ingredients.

Get it?? With a TWIST?? (ROFL…..perhaps by myself. I should probably get up now.)

3 Ingredients!:

Mini Pretzel Twists
Hershey’s Chocolate Chips
Decorative Sprinkle Balls

These are SO easy to make, and your kids will have SO-MUCH-FUN helping!! Our kids sure do! Here we go……

Get some water in the bottom portion of a double boiler pan. You want to put the burner on MEDIUM, and wait for the water to be ‘just about ready’ to boil. Once it’s to that point, it’s good enough to turn it down to LOW, and put the top portion of the double boiler pan on.

Now pour in the top pan, a small amount (maybe equivalent to a couple of handfuls…but exactness is not that important) of chocolate chips into ONE SIDE of the pan. You kind of want them in a small pile, so that it makes dipping easier.

Use a spoon, and keep stirring the chips, letting them slowly melt, until the chocolate is really melty and smooth. Once it is, you’re ready for ……..

….some dipping!!

Bring the just dipped pretzel (or 2, if you can do 2 at once) over to a counter space, and sprinkle your sprinkles onto the wet hot chocolate.

We suggest doing this over an empty container. They are very bouncy……so otherwise you’d be finding them all over the place until Easter 2012. You can also re-use what you catch in the container for other pretzels, over another container.

Simply place them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet – spaced nicely so they don’t touch each other.

Just another photo, because I had to take it.

Repeat this process of dipping, sprinkling and laying, adding more chips to your pan as needed, and giving it little stirs to keep it melty and smooth as you go.

Once a tray is full………

….pop it into the refrigerator. (And begin a new tray, of course!) Putting them in the fridge will help the chocolate harden. Generally speaking, they need to be KEPT cool, until they are popped into your mouth, or the chocolate on the pretzels will get melty on your hands. (unlike m&m’s….and we know why. They do not have that hard candy shell. lol) (These don’t talk either. Sorry.)

We think they are pretty enough (and tasty enough) to give as little gifts too! We used these nice little clear bags, found in the stores where they sell chocolate melts, and supplies to make chocolate lollipops, etc. (In our case, our local Michael’s Arts & Crafts) We tied them off with silver twist ties. Who doesn’t love chocolate? Warning though: the sweet then salty thing going on, may keep you popping more in your mouth than you meant to!

Sweet, huh??

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CHEERS!!

Sweet, huh??

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