Italian Almond/Amaretto (or Anisette) Cookies w/ Icing

Italian Almond Cookies w/ Icing and Sprinkles

Cookie

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2-3 Tbsp milk

ICING

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• Sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick liners

For Cookies:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add almond extract.
3. Blend flour and baking powder. Start by adding a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, then add 1 Tbsp milk. Add another third of the flour mixture and another tablespoon of milk.. Finally, mix in enough of the remaining flour mixture until your dough is like a brownie batter (it should be softer than a drop cookie dough).
4. Use a small cookie scooper to make simple round drop cookies–use wet fingers to pat any rough edges.
5. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes–they won’t be brown but the insides will be soft and cake like.

For Icing:

1. Mix sugar, milk and extract to make a sugar glaze. Hold cookie in your hand and paint with finger–cover entire cookie with glaze and sit on a baking rack with wax paper underneath to catch any drippings. Immediately top with sprinkles before glaze dries.
2. Allow icing to harden overnight; then store in air tight containers or freeze.

These freeze well!

NOTES:  You can use anisette instead of almond extract in these cookies.  Substitute the almond extract to anisette extract in the cookie, and cut the amount of anisette to 1/8- 1/4 tsp. anisette flavoring in the glaze

This article and recipe adapted from this site