Cookies, Italian and Others

With great anticipation of our grandkids coming for a visit with their Mom in a couple of weeks, other company coming and going to a concert, I thought I would bake a little to get ahead.

Well…..I have been baking almost all day as the recipes I was using will not work in a convection oven. So…..

Don sampled these and proclaimed they are almost as good as my chocolate chip. WOW! That is, indeed, high praise.

Cookies from Italy

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 scant cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup skinned pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped, dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on your cookie sheets and set aside.

Together in a bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until really light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until well mixed. Beat in the ricotta and vanilla (NO, it hasn’t curdled), gently stir in the flour mixture, pistachios and cranberries.

Drop by heaping teaspoons on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake 14 minutes and remove to a cooling rack.

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• zest from 1 large orange
• 3 tbsp. fresh orange juice (from same orange works great)

Stir until smooth and drizzle 1 teaspoon over each cookie. Store in air tight container at room temperature or freeze up to 2 weeks.

These are so darn good…different from the norm…..go ahead, say it…’damn I can do this’….