Creative Italian Spiral Cookies

After making two cakes, I wanted my next treat to be a simple and quick recipe.So I chose to make cookies, but not just any ordinary ones,Italian style cookies.These treats are very similar to sugar cookies in texture;however, what really sets them apart to make them special is their flavor.They have vanilla and almond extracts paired together to bring a really great layer of flavor to transform a basic cookie.The almond is the star of the show and to be honest its my favorite extract.

The recipe I chose to use to make these is for Italian rolled cookies,which directly come from my Italian Foods eleven course collection.By me saying that,this tells you I have made these treats multiple times and the recipe has most likely been adapted;however I have always kept the original recipe unchanged.This time in making these I did make a couple changes,but nothing to risky.Right in the beginning, I started with doubling the ingredients because most of the recipes in this collection make small batches and the second change was the shape of these cookies.Originally, these are to resemble half bows hence rolled cookies;however in the past I have always had difficulty in assembling this shape. So I made the decision in making these into spirals and It was actually very simple to create.Its easier being done, then me talking about it.

When I made this cookie dough I found it pretty simple to put together.The ingredients are basic and the directions were direct.The only negative aspect I would say about this recipe is the measurements.This can be bothersome for some people because its in metric.So converting has to be done and this isn't always so even.So I'll be sure to give some examples for metric/imperial in the recipe below to help everyone out.Beside that everything was pretty relaxed.

The assembling was the funnest part of this recipe and the design came out great.It was very unique and eye catching.The icing sugar just gave that little bit of something to these cookies.Now for amount of cookies I would of loved more, even though I doubled the recipe.However remember I changed the shape, hence I had to use more dough for each cookie to create larger spirals.So when you create bigger cookies you get less of them,but doubling the recipe was still very important of course in creating these.Wouldn't change a thing!

Now the best part of these Italian style cookies is their texture and flavor.They are soft,crumbly,thick, and very moist cookies.The texture is very important for these treats and Its all about color along with how long you bake them for.It needs to be golden yellow bottoms and a white spring back top to get these perfect.For the flavor you will get almond extract.It is very strong in these cookie, but the vanilla is still able to peak through there.Its also a slight sweet cookie and has the icing sugar as an even added sweetness.I can even see these cookies with a simple white glaze instead of an icing sugar. Ideas? Ideas? ummm Overall, these were a tasty treat that were simple to make.I give this recipe an A+ for simplicity,directness and great flavor,

 Lastly, I like to mention that this recipe is part of a collection of memories.I'll always remember greats times with friends cooking in Italian food class.Some of my best times were in that class and I even slightly remember making this recipe.But anyways, I'm getting all sentimental now.So I better stop there and recommend everyone to try out this recipe and tell me what they think.Ta ta for now!

 Italian Spiral Cookies 

(Adapted from Italian Rolled Cookies,Italian Foods 11)

150 ml margarine (125ml (1/2 cup) + 25ml ( 1 tbsp + 2 tsp)

250 ml sugar,1 cup

2 egg

20 ml vanilla ( 4 tsp )  + 2ml almond extract (1/2 tsp)

550 ml flour (250ml(1cup)+250ml (1 cup) + 50ml ( 1/4 cup - 2 tsp)

2ml salt ( 1/2 tsp)

50ml icing sugar ( 1/4 cup)

1. In a large bowl,Cream margarine, add sugar 15mls at a time, beat.
2. Add vanilla extract ,almond extract & eggs, beat.
3. Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
4. Gradually add flour to wet mixture, stir in.
5. Grease cookie sheet.
6. Take 15mls of patter.Roll into a rope and roll into a spiral.
7. Place on cookie sheet.Bake at 350F for 12-20 minutes.They will be white on top and lightly golden brown on the bottom.Top will also spring back.You do not want to overcook these.Time varies with how many cookies are on the sheet and how big.
8. Let cool on a cookie rack.When slightly warm.Dust with icing sugar. Place the rack full of cookies on top of a large plate.Sift the icing sugar on top.Continue till all cookies are dusted.