Italian Sugar Cookies

Submitted by Dave5003

"aka Italian White Christmas Cookies. I have had this simple recipe for years. This makes a basic soft cookie that can be iced and decorated for the holidays"

 

• Ready In: 43mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 120 large cookies

ingredients

• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 4 teaspoons vanilla or 4 teaspoons anise extract
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 7 1⁄2 cups flour (see instructions below)
• icing (optional) or nuts (optional)
• colored sugar sprinkle (optional)

directions

1. Cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer.
2. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
3. Add buttermilk, flavor extracts, baking soda and cream of tarter and blend well.
4. Now by hand with a wooden spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time until the mixture is stiff.
5. Drop from heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. If not icing you may press on the nuts or sprinkles now (or you can ice or frost and decorate with sprinkles after baking).
6. Bake in a preheated 375F oven, center oven rack, 10 to 13 minutes or until cookie edges are slightly brown and tops look set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Overbaking cause dry, hard cookies.
7. Carefully remove to rack to cool. Frost or decorate as desired.
8. Notes: recipe may be halved, cookies freeze well, for best baking use an insulated baking sheet as these tend to burn on the bottom. Store airtight.

Reviews

[Steve_G]

The recipie has alot of promise, but it needs some tweeking. The first batch out of the oven were undercooked in the center. Next batch I flattend a bit and they came out better, the third batch I flattend to 3/8 thick and it seemed to work fine. They are very tender and are very attractive as they crack slightly and have a nice light brown hue around the perimeter. With the texture issues solved solved I would like to work on the flavor as they are a bit flat for my tastes, and for what I think a Christmas Cookie should be...... I think some ground nut and more extract would be a big help.

 

[Mommacook1]

YUM! These were some of the best cookies I have tasted in a LONG time! The dough was REALLY fluffy and airy. It tasted so good raw. :D I used vanilla exctract, and used an electric mixer to mix everything 'till the 6th cup of flour. I didn't roll them out, cooked them for 10 minutes, at 375. Came out fluffy, and looked like a biscuit. I sprinkled some bakers sugar over them... ADDICTING!

 

[Sue in Indiana]

I've never seen a cookie recipe that states to bake the cookies in a 425 degree oven. My first batch I was a little scared so I only cooked it for 8 mins and the bottoms came out burnt, so I turned my oven down to 400 and had the same problem. Finally turned it down to 375 and cooked another batch for 8 mins and they came out perfect. Thanks for the recipe Sorry I forgot to add the stars.

 

[Pesto lover]

I quartered the recipe, using 2 eggs. I used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/3 tsp lemon extract. The dough was very soft and I chilled it for 2 hours. I topped the cookies with a whole pecan before baking. I was very pleased with the result. The cookies were soft and cake-like, with a delicate flavor. Perfect for a cup of tea! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

 

[Caramelized]

this is an awesome recipe more people should try it!