Iced Italian Cookies

For dinner at my boyfriend's house tonight, I really wanted to come with a dessert prepared. As the last name Catalano would imply, they're a family of Italians and my boyfriend's dad especially loves Italian cookies. I'm not really a big fan of them, probably because I always think of the bland, boring cookies that usually get labeled "Italian" and whenever I try one I always wonder WHERE the sweetness is. I know they're supposed to be subtle cookies but there's nothing wrong with adding a little something to satisfy the sweet tooth.

The recipe I used was from over at Bunny's Warm Oven and it changed my perception of GOOD Italian cookies in a second. The recipe is quick, easy, and makes a big batch. I packed up about half of the cookies to bring for dinner tonight and was still left with an entire two cookie sheets of these morsels.

Italian Cookies:

-1/2 c. butter

-1/4 c. shortening

-3/4 c. sugar

-4 eggs

-3 c. flour

-5 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

Icing:

-2 c. powdered sugar

-3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

• Melt butter & shortening together; add sugar & mix well
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
• Mix in vanilla extract
• In a seperate bowl, whisk or sift together flour, baking powder, & salt and add gradually to the creamed mixture
• Roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets (I added about 1/2 cup more flour because the dough was too sticky to handle)
• Bake at 375 degrees for 8 or 9 minutes; they should be browned slightly on the bottom but still light on top
• Remove to wire rack to cool before icing

Make the Icing:

• Mix milk one tablespoon at a time into the 2 cups of powdered sugar to make the glaze (keep it somewhat thick)
• Dip the top of each cookie into the icing (when completely cooled) and sprinkle with nonpareils
• Add them back to the wire rack until icing sets

*Putting a piece of wax paper underneath the wire rack assists in easier cleanup after icing the cookies!