Italian Wedding Cookies

Italian wedding cookies come in a variety of shapes, sizes and flavors.  Some are fig stuffed, some anise flavored, some covered with white confectioner's sugar, but the one thing they have in common is you can't eat just one!  I saw these beauties and fell in love!  Then I tasted them, and I was hooked!  Try them out, even if you don't make them for your wedding they'll soon become a family favorite for special occasions and holidays. 

The recipe for these beauties is as follows.  (Thanks to my husband's family)
These Italian anise cookies have a light frosting and and you can dust them with sprinkles.  I prefer them with icing colored with food coloring just to pastel prettiness.

Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen (depending on if you are snitching dough before you bake)

Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tsp. anise

Icing:


3 Tblsp. melted butter
3 Cups powdered sugar
3 Tblsp. lite whipping cream or 1/2 and 1/2.
2 tsp. anise
(food coloring as desired) (I like pink, pale green, yellows)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar . Cut in butter using a pastry blender or rub between fingers until well blended.

Stir in the eggs, vanilla and anise extracts and mix into a firm dough.

Then turn dough out onto a floured surface, knead for about 5 minutes. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place them about an inch apart onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons water. Drizzle over cooled cookies and decorate with sprinkles if you like them.  They're just fine without them.