Italian Easter Cookies In 5 Minutes

By littlefish

These are a traditional cookie from Italy flavored with vanilla and almond extracts. They are tied in loose knots and baked, then frosted with tinted icing.

To change slightly use anise extract in both cookie and icing in place of almond extract

Ingredients

• Icing:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 drops red food coloring (optional)

Details

Adapted from facebook.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie
sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter and white sugar
until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in
1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1/4 cup milk and
oil. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the wet mixture.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll the
balls out into ropes about 5 inches long. Tie into loose knots and
place cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 5 minutes on the bottom shelf and 5 minutes on the top
shelf of the preheated oven, until the bottoms of the cookies are
golden brown. When cookies are cool, dip them into the icing.

4. To make the icing, cream together the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup
butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extracts. Beat
in 3 tablespoons milk, one tablespoon at a time, then stir in the
food coloring if desired.