Italian Sprinkle Cookies

Before starting this blog, I began to start taking pictures of my own food when I became more interested in working in the kitchen. My father use to do this as well hoping one day to make his own cookbook, but times have changed and that dream for him is no longer there. I'm not sure if my dream is to make my own cookbook, but I definitely like taking photos of the food I make, and sharing it with everyone here through blogs! I especially like giving my food away to people who appreciate it. My best friend's birthday was back in March 17th, St. Patrick's Day to be exact! I decided I'd bake her one of her favorite cookies.

We have a deli in Las Vegas named Siena Deli that imports many of their products from New York and Italy. They have all those delicious Italian cookies like florentine, pignoli, knot cookies, sesame cookies, biscotti, pizzelles, fig cookies and I can just go on. The food is a whole other story. I'm glad we can have a decent Italian deli here in Las Vegas. I'm jealous of those who have access to some of the best deli's in Chicago and New York. Well my best friend loves their "sprinkle" cookies. They are a buttery cookie that are dispensed from a cookie press and then topped with rainbow sprinkles. I found this recipe from Taste of Home. It was simple and made a lot of cookies. It also used pure almond and lemon extract that the Siena Deli cookies do not have. I thought this would make a great twist on the cookie. It was also easier and had no fuss with the cookie dispenser. You can get the recipe by clicking HERE.

When dipping the cookies into the sugar mixture I had to be quick because it is very hot from the warm cookies. I burned my fingers doing this, but I had to get through it. LOL. I even tried using a spoon and then a fork, but the fingers work best. Another thing is the glaze calls for almost 4 cups of confectioner sugar and 1/2 cup of milk. I kept adding milk because the glaze didn't have the right consistency. Although the final results were fantastic. The entire cookie complimented itself with the pure lemon and almond extracts, it was slightly chewy/crunchy, and the glaze on the outside had the right amount of sweetness, making these cookies a favorite.

I had two cooling racks of the cookies like this waiting to dry. 
One is missing in the upper right corner. Hmm ;)

This was a birthday present so I had to make it fancy and put the cookies in a big, clear chinese takeout box. I got it at Michaels, but I'm sure any arts and craft store will carry them. I used wax paper to divide the layers and then topped it with a green bow. It also be neat to use a color tissue paper, but this time I decided I'd let the cookies shine because of the rainbow sprinkles!

 

All done!! She loved them and so did everyone 
else that kept stealing them from her!
 

This was the first time I gave something baked as a birthday present, but it definitely will not be my last time. People actually love it. I think it is more meaningful because you actually take the time to make something rather then buying a gift card. I think you should try it. Share the love!!!

Have a good evening,
Fallon