Italian Sugar Cookies
"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
- Cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
- Add buttermilk, flavor extracts, baking soda and cream of tarter and blend well.
- Now by hand with a wooden spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time until the mixture is stiff.
- 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).
- 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.
- Carefully remove to rack to cool. Frost or decorate as desired.
- 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.
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Reviews
-
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. -
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! -
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. -
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. -
this is an awesome recipe more people should try it!
