Well, here we are at Week 7 of the Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies.

I have good news………………. and bad news.
Which do you want first?
Being somewhat of an optimist, I’ll give you the good news first:
Anginetti Cookies – otherwise known as COOKIES YOU SHOULD MAKE NOW! Lemony rings of goodness, these are a Southern Italian specialty that I wish I had been formally introduced to before. They are light and tender – with the perfect amount of fresh lemon icing. Just a superb, little sweet cookie that deserves to be more well known.

You know what’s even better? They freeze well, even with the icing. Just ask David – he eats them straight from the freezer!
And now………….. the bad news. Well, it’s not bad news, but I have never harbored such ill-will and animosity toward cookie dough before.

I tried to make Cinnamon Bun Crunch cookies several years ago, but chalked up the wreckage to my inexperience with rolling dough. However, this was doomed from the get-go. I couldn’t get the dough to come together, but I persevered, smushed it into a circle, wrapped it up and prayed to the magical dough gods asking for it to please work this time.
Apparently, someone was off duty that day, because my calls for help went unanswered.
Frustrating doesn’t begin to describe how difficult it was to get the dough to cooperate. I tried putting it in a time out, threatened to take away TV privileges, cursed – you know, mature stuff - but my efforts were for naught. It cracked while rolling, stuck to the plastic, misbehaved – and worse, I caught it giving me the side eye.
After a few bashes with the rolling pin, I was finally able to beat that dough into submission. I sliced off as many cookies as I could, trashed the rest, and called it a day.
And what, you might be asking, did I learn from all this? Besides the fact that I might need psychiatric counseling for threatening cookie dough, the end result was delicious – it tasted just like a cinnamon roll, but in a smaller, more manageable form.
However, the road to cinnamon bun goodness is long and perilous.
Make them if you feel like punishing yourself.
On a happier note, here are two really good recipes from last year:
Chewy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread and Chocolate Mint Cookies
Anginetti - adapted from epicurious.com
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
ICING
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract and grated lemon peel in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (mixture may appear curdled). Continue beating 1 minute. Combine flour and baking powder in small bowl. Add to butter mixture and stir to form soft sticky dough.
Spoon dough into pastry bag fitted with 3/8-inch-wide round tip. Pipe 2-inch-diameter rings onto prepared sheets, spacing apart. Using fingertips dipped into water, press ends of each ring together into smooth ring. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare icing.
Icing:
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar, 2 tablespoons water, lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until sugar melts and mixture is heated through. Thin with more water if icing is too thick to brush.
Remove cookies from oven. Immediately brush warm icing over hot cookies. Cool iced cookies on sheets 2 minutes. Transfer on rack and cool completely. Store in airtight container, or freeze for longer storage.
Cinnamon Bun Crunch Cookies - adapted from One Smart Cookie
Dough:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1 minute, until well combined. Beat in egg white and vanilla until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough.
Roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12-inch square. Place on a cookie sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes or in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Remove dough from the fridge and peel off the top layer of waxed paper.
Drizzle honey evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts, going almost to the edges. Gently roll into a log, peeling back the bottom paper as you go. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours, or up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the log into 1/4-inch slices and place 1-inch apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until pale golden. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

























