Buon Natale - Italian Christmas Cookies at Peggie's Place!

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Buon Natale!
Italian Christmas Cookies at Peggie's Place!
A visit to an authentic Italiano home for Italian Christmas cookie recipes!!
Christmas Eve: Italian Style . . . "Buon Natale" - lyrics . . . Christmas in Italy

Buon Natale from the Italiano Mama at Peggie's Place! Come on in--straight to the kitchen, where Peggie is making traditional Italian cookies. These are the cookies she remembers as a little girl--and that's a long time ago! The recipes originate from a real Italian home and some wonderful lifelong friends--enjoy--these cookies are delicious, I promise!
Another popular recipe: Rocky Road Brownies

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE SPICE COOKIES!

NOTE: This is a very large recipe;
You might want to halve it - unless you're having LOTS of company!!
3 1/2 pounds of flour (10-12 cups)
l pound Crisco or other shortening (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 small yeast cakes or 1 large yeast cake (or 2 packets/powdered yeast)
--------(dissolve in 1/2 cup very warm water)
12 tsp. baking powder
1 regular-size box raisins
1 package (regular size) chocolate chips
4 tablespoons Hershey cocoa
1 can Hershey syrup (regular-size)
3 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. nutmeg
3 tsp clove
3 tsp ginger
Buttermilk - about 2/3 pint - as needed
Nuts - as many as you'd like!

Mix everything together. Take dough by teaspoon and place on cookie sheet lined with tin foil. Bake at 400 about 10 minutes. Watch carefully. Add thin white glaze when cool.

NOTE: Makes 12 to 14 dozen cookies. I usually halve the recipe to make 7-8 dozen cookies.
No way or words to describe the taste--honest!!

ITALIAN VANILLA COOKIES!

1 1/2 cups Crisco or other shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Tip: Blend eggs and sugar; then add shortening)

Sift and add to above:
6 cups flour
6 teasponns baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix with spoon and then knead with hands. Roll dough into 1- to 2-inch balls (Peggie makes the smaller balls), or roll strips of dough into "S" curved shapes.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Tip: Peggie bakes these for 8-10 minutes, sometimes turns oven down to 375.

Cookies will still be soft when removed from oven (not crispy).

Make icing of confectionery sugar, warm milk, vanilla, butter (optional: red and green food coloring). Dip top of cookie in white, red or green icing for a glazed-like topping.

TIP: Peggie uses red and green icing - this has been a family project with Peggie's husband, Joe, in charge of icing the cookies--perfect job for a chemist, helped by two little boys, now grown-up--but they still love the cookies! Here's how Joe does it: He dips 1/3 of a cookie in red icing, then the opposite third in green icing, making a red, white and green decorative topping - the colors of the Italian flag.

Makes 7 to 8 dozen. Don't eat them all at once!
NOTE: Variations for the Italian Vanilla Cookies as found on the Internet!
Another variation!

Some Italian links for fun:
Buon Natale - Christmas in Italy - from About.com
Holiday Traditions - Italy

Abigail's Italian Food Recipes

Italian recipes--AllRecipes.com
Kieto's Daily Recipe and Funnies--a wonderful Italian cook on the Web!

Italian Pizzelle Recipes and Maker:
A GOOGLE search for pizzelle recipes
Recipes from Nunny: Pizelle Cookie Page
Spiegel: VillaWare(TM) Pizelle Maker

International Recipes
Ethnic Food and Recipes--from About.com

Christmas cookies
Christmas Cookies: Baking and Decorating--from SouthernFood
Christmas cookies--About.com - lots of links
Christmas cookie recipes--with a cookie exchange
Christmas cookie recipe countdown

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Some fun Peggie links:
A Top Ten Christmas at Peggie's Place!
Then there's Peggie's Kitchen, of course!
Peggie's Kitchen Links!
Stop at Peggie's Chocolate Shop--it's a lot of fun!

Our family--Peggie, Joe, Joey, and Jason--
hope this will be your best Christmas ever,
and that you will receive
God's greatest Gift to the world,
His Son Jesus Christ!

The Four Spiritual Laws--
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Who Holds the Key to Peggie's Place?
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Merry Christmas from Peggie's Place! to yours!
Time for hot apple cider and MORE delicious Italian Christmas cookies--
Don't say Peggie didn't FEED you here......all calories are virtual, so enjoy!
Ready for the New Year? Visit Alphabeta 2003 at Peggie's Place!

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If you have comments, suggestions, CHOCOLATE, or just want to say, "Merry Christmas," and let me know how the cookies turned out, please email me! You're welcome to stop in at "Peggie's Place!" anytime. It's the most fun Christian home on WWW--just waiting for a visit from YOU!

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Credit for "Christmas Row" bars:The Mousepad.
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Copyright 1996-2010 by Peggie C. Bohanon, Springfield, MO. All rights reserved.