Italian Easter Egg Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1/4 cup milk and oil. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the wet mixture. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll the balls out into ropes about 5 inches long. Tie into loose knots and place cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 5 minutes on the bottom shelf and 5 minutes on the top shelf of the preheated oven, until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. When cookies are cool, dip them into the icing.
• To make the icing, cream together the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extracts. Beat in 3 tablespoons milk, one tablespoon at a time, then stir in the food coloring if desired.

Steps:

• To make the dough:.
• In a bowl, combine the eggs, butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and anise extract. With an electric mixer, beat the ingredients until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat on low to combine. Gather up the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface begin to form the baskets.
• To form the basket handle, start with a piece of the dough about the size of a walnut. Gently roll the dough into a thin pencil shape about 10 inches long.
• Repeat with another piece of dough.
• Place the 2 lengths side by side and twist one over the other like a spiral.
• Place the handle onto a baking sheet in a horseshoe shape.
• Take about 1/4 cup of the dough and form a thick oval or egg shape. Place one of the hard boiled eggs in the center of the oval. Press it down gently to embed it in the dough but don't push it through the dough.
• Place the dough with the egg on top of the ends of the basket handle.
• Press lightly to adhere the shape to the basket handle.
• Continue making the baskets in this manner.
• About 4 basket cookies should fit on each baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes until very slightly golden brown.
• Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing:.
• In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and milk until smooth. Use a pastry brush to gently brush the icing on each cookie; don't brush icing on the eggs. Place the cookies on a wire rack over a baking sheet and dust with the colored sprinkles. Add the sprinkles while the icing is still wet so that they will adhere.
• Allow the icing to dry and harden before storing. The cookies may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until totally combined, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and zest and mix to combine, about 30 seconds. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula then add all of the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides again if necessary, making sure not to overmix. Cover and refrigerate until the dough is completely chilled, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a rope, 5 to 6 inches long. Tie it into a loose knot and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. If the knots start to get warm, refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake on the upper and lower racks until the tops of the cookies are dry and set and the bottoms are golden, rotating the baking sheets front to back and switching rack positions, halfway through, about 15 minutes total.
• For the glaze and sprinkles: Meanwhile, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, salt and 1 tablespoon of the milk in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon milk if needed-the glaze should be the consistency of heavy cream.
• Place the sprinkles in a small bowl. Once the cookies are cool enough to handle, dip the tops in the glaze, letting any excess run off, then dip in the sprinkles. Transfer the cookies, glazed-side up, to a wire rack and let cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.