Home Italy Revisited Bookshelf Plays About Mary Melfi Contact Us
in
Cookies without Nuts
Italian wedding cookies
Wedding Cookies (Italian wedding cookies, flavored with vanilla or lemon extract)
Originated from: Molise, Italy
Occasion: Weddings
Contributed by: Taken from Rizzi DeFabo's cookbook, "Cooking with Rizzi" (Crabtree Press, 2010)

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients

WEDDING COOKIES*
For Cookies:
6 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla or lemon extract
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
4 to 5 1/2 cups flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

For Frosting:
1 stick butter, melted
5 tablespoons milk
5 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups confectioners' sugar
food coloring

*"This Italian cookie became known as a "wedding cookie" in America, because the knot in the dough represented two people joining together. This is Nonna Rocco's recipe."



Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.



To Make Cookies:

With electric mixer, beat eggs until pale yellow.

Add vanilla or lemon extract, sugar, and melted butter. Beat until well blended.

Combine 4 cups flour with baking powder and salt.

With a wooden spoon, gradually add to egg mixture to form a soft dough. If dough is a little sticky, add remaining flour as necessary until soft dough forms.

Take a heaping teaspoon of dough, and roll it in your hands to form a 2-inch rope.

Wrap around finger or twist dough to form a knot and set on lightly greased cookie sheet. Continue until all dough is used.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely before frosting.



To Make Frosting:

Beat butter, milk, and vanilla together.

Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until shiny.

Divide frosting into small bowls and add drops of food coloring to make different colors.



Ice wedding cookies. If desired, make the frosting thinner by adding more milk, and dip cookies instead of icing them.

Allow frosting to dry for several hours.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week. Cookies may also be frozen.



YIELD: 8 to 9 dozen


Notes

This recipe was taken from Rizzi DeFabo's cookbook, "Cooking with Rizzi" (Crabtree Press, 2010) with the expressed permission of the author, an award-winning Italian-American chef and owner of "Rizzo's Malabar Inn." "Rizzo's Malabar Inn" is located in southwestern Pennsylvania (126 Rizzo Road, Crabtree, Salem Township). The food served at this restaurant, a local landmark dating back to the 1920s, reflects the culinary traditions of Abruzzo and Molise.... Photo: Mary Melfi.

Back to main list