1 liter flour [4 1/4 cups]
2 cups sugar
1 container Crisco [1 pound lard]
6 eggs
15 teaspoons Magic baking powder
Zest of 1 lemon
3 envelops of powdered vanilla extract
2 cups milk

For coating
Icing sugar

Mix dry ingredients with wet ones.

Roll out the dough.

Form small balls with the dough.

Roll the balls in icing sugar.

Place the balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, making sure there is ample space between them.

Flatten the balls a little.

Bake in a preheated moderate oven until golden (about 12 minutes).

Mrs. Anna-Maria Benvenuto has collected hundreds of recipes from relatives, friends and neighbors over the years. She recorded the recipes in Italian in numerous notebooks, often naming the recipe after the person who gave it to her (The one in this entry was provided to her by her friend, Lucia). Being an avid baker Mrs. Benvenuto tried out many of the recipes herself. Because of her talent and expertise, she did not feel the need to write detailed instructions as she knew how to make the recipes without them. However, when asked by this website's archivist (Mary Melfi) for details, she quickly volunteered the information. Nonetheless, as with most first generation Italian-Canadian handwritten recipes, it is understood that whoever attempts to duplicate them should have some knowledge of what they are doing (Easier said than done).... While Mrs. Benvenuto was born in the Veneto region (in 1938) and has a natural fondness for recipes that come from this area, she found that as soon as she immigrated to Montreal, Quebec in 1952 she developed an instant appreciation for all foods from her homeland.... Photo and English translation of original Italian text: Mary Melfi.

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