Nani Alongi's Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Name: Nani Alongi's Chocolate Christmas Cookies
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 2 h 8 min
Yield: 17 dozen, 204 serving(s)
Ingredients: 4 eggs, large; 1 cup Crisco; 2 cups sugar; 1 tablespoon orange extract; 1 cup milk; 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar; 6 1/2 cups flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 3 teaspoons baking soda; 1 cup cocoa powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg; 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 1/2 teaspoons cloves; 1 1/2 teaspoons orange rind, grated; 1 cup walnuts, coarsley chopped; 1 cup raisins; 1 lb powdered sugar, unsifted; 1/2 cup egg white, room temperature; 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Submitted by Trixyinaz

"These cookies have been in our family for decades. We have them every Christmas and they are my favorite. WARNING: This makes a boat load of cookies (approximately 204 cookies!) and it is a bit time consuming having to roll the cookies into balls and frost them. BUT, it is so worth it!!!"

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photo by Trixyinaz

Ready In:: 2hrs 8mins
Ingredients:: 19
Yields:: 17 dozen
Serves:: 204

ingredients

4 eggs, large
1 cup Crisco
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon orange extract
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
6 ¹⁄₂ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup cocoa powder
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons nutmeg
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cloves
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons orange rind, grated
1 cup walnuts, coarsley chopped
1 cup raisins
Frosting
1 lb powdered sugar, unsifted
¹⁄₂ cup egg white, room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a glass measuring cup, add your milk and vinegar and whisk briskly. Let sit for approximately 10 minutes to sour.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, crisco, sugar and orange extract on high until well mixed (about 1 to 2 minutes). Set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups of flour (reserve the 2.5 cups to be added later), baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, nuts and raisins.
Alternately add your milk and beaten egg mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix my hand. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix well (it's easier this way, trust me). Continue adding the flour until you can form the dough into a ball. If you don't use all the flour, that is okay, but your dough needs to be able to form a ball and it shouldn't stick to your hands.
Using a teaspoon (my teaspoon looks like a melon baller), scoop out some dough and form into a ball. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 to 8 minutes ONLY.
Place on table lined with waxed paper and let cool completely.
FROSTING:
In a mixing bowl, beat your egg whites, orange extract and cream of tartar until foamy.
Add your powder sugar one cup at a time and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes. The frosting will be thick.
Once your cookies have cooled, scoop out about 3 tablespoons of frosting into a small bowl (like a soup dish). Roll each cookie in the frosting (ensuring you get frosting all over the cookie). Hint: The cookies should NOT be coated heavily with the frosting (see pictures). Place on wax paper and let dry. Repeat until all cookies are frosted. Once the tops and sides of the cookies are dry, turn the cookies over and let the bottoms of the cookies dry.
Place in a container (platic bag works just fine) and keep in the freezer until ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Prep time includes rolling out the cookies and frosting them. Baking time is for each tray of cookies.
This makes approximately 17 dozen cookies (or 204 cookies). Nutritional value is for 1 cookie!