Italian Christmas Cookies!

Part of my family is Jewish. Part of my family is Catholic The Catholic side is Italian and oh do they know how to cook and bake. There is never a special occasion or a holiday that passes when we don't get a massive tray of delicious, homemade cookies from my great aunt/God mother. As part of my bridal shower gift 5+ years ago, she made me notebook full of family recipes and recipes she had found online and managed to slip into her repertoire.

(I love how she put a picture of my little cousin on the front and put the pages in plastic protectors.  I'm so messy when I bake, so it's good that the pages are protected! I mentioned not to long ago that my parents had gone away for their 35th wedding anniversary and I took advantage of having the house to myself and did some baking.  I'm finally getting around to sharing my 2 favorite recipes with you!

Cookie Ingredients: 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups of sugar 1 TSP lemon extract 1 TSP orange extract 6 cups of flour 3 sticks of butter 1 cup OJ 1 TSP baking soda 6 TSP baking powder Mix the eggs, butter, and sugar, then add the OJ, lemon and orange extracts.  Mix well!  Then add the baking soda, baking powder, and flour.  Again, mix well!  Shape the batter into 1-2 inch balls and bake at 350F for 6-8 minutes.  Frost cookies when cooled.
Frosting Ingredients: 1 stick of butter 1 box confectioners sugar milk  Instructions: Mix ingredients, add milk as needed depending on the desired texture/consistency. Additionally, you can add food coloring if desired.  You can also add sprinkles!

Ingredients: 1- 15 oz box of Graham Crackers, crumbled 1 box confectioners sugar 28 oz jar of peanut butter 1 stick of melted butter melting chocolate Instructions: Blend all ingredients, minus the chocolate, together.  Roll into 1-2 inch balls.  Place on wax paper covered baking sheets and let set in refrigerator for about an hour.  In the mean time, melt down the chocolate right before you pull the balls from the fridge.  Dip each ball in the chocolate and replace on the baking sheets.  Leave in the fridge until the chocolate is solid. Do you like to bake?   Is your family full of bakers like mine? What are your favorite recipes for around the holidays?

Whew! What an awesome giveaway! The Owner of the Etsy shop, SecondHandGoddess, has put together a huge giveaway for her fans! Enter to win below for your chance to win an item from Second Hand Goddess. The best part? You get to choose! Also, there will be not one, but TWO lucky winners!

SecondHand Goddess Giveaway (2 Winners)

Good luck to all who Enter!