Anginetti Cookies | Italian Comfort Food

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity”.  ~Voltaire
 
 
copyright 2013 Art of Living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
 

Nothing calms the mind and soul like a comfort food….These cookies are one of my favorite..  (an Italian style) comfort food. I can remember having these after school with a glass of milk with my mom while discussing my day at school, and then with a cup of tea on Sunday mid mornings while visiting with my grandparents after church and while waiting for the big Sunday afternoon meal. And finally with a cup of coffee visiting with family and friends or alone. Sharing freshly baked anginetti and a cup of coffee with my mom, today, is still one of my favorite things to do.
The perfect sweet to bake on a fall Sunday afternoon. or for any Holiday
from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-second edition
 
Anginetti (yields approximately 40 cookies)
Cookies:
1 tsp vanilla extract
Grated peel of one fresh lemon
6 tbsp butter
½-cup skim milk
½-cup sugar
3 whole eggs
3 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
Icing:
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees while lining large cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and non-stick coating.
In large mixing bowl, beat vanilla, zest, margarine, milk, and sugar with electric mixer on medium setting until texture is well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating each addition, and then continue to beat mixture for 1 minute.
On low speed, blend flour (1 cup at a time), powder, and baking soda until consistency becomes firm, sticky dough. If needed, have wooden spoon available for mixing. Dust hands lightly with additional flour, rolling dough into bite-sized balls. Place approximately 20 onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2 “apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Icing: While first batch is baking, combine vanilla, lemon juice, sugar, and water into a small mixing bowl, whisking ingredients until mixture is completely blended. Remove cookies from oven, placing a sheet of wax or parchment beneath wire rack. Using a small pastry brush, frost the tops of each cookie with icing, sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar, and transfer to rack for cooling. Begin second batch.
 
Thanks to everyone that I met at my Tacony Library event-book signing ,sampling and presentation on The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm..where food meets art,travel and life! I enjoyed meeting everyone..here are some memories and photos…so nice to know that kids are passionate about cooking and eating well..Here is a photo of ‘chef in the making’ Dazsha at  the event. She promised to help her mom make a Panzanella salad with my recipe!

 
To celebrate Italian culture month we enjoyed a dish from Sicily- couscous, a dish from Tuscany-Panzanella salad, and some sweets with honey from Abruzzo..recipes will be coming soon!

 
A special thanks to Lisa and staff at Tacony Library for making this a successful event and a great way to celebrate Italian culture for the month of October! (by the way if you are an architecture buff..visit the Library the building it is housed in  is over 100 yrs old and the interior is quite special!)
 
**Hope to see you at the Philadelphia Food and Wine Event this weekend at the Valley Forge Casino..I will be doing a book signing during the show and a cooking demo on Sunday..stop by and say HI! October 18,19,20
 
The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm is now becoming a PBS/Create TV show..we are now coordinating sponsors, vendors, joint partners etc…interested parties, please contact us at events1@marialiberati.com
For more great recipes, Holiday stories get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions-2nd edition