Impress your guests with this cheeky cookie

Like many of us, Rossella Rago took cooking lessons from her grandmother. Her grandmother is so rich in culinary knowledge that Rago hosts a show with her called “Cooking With Nonna” on Instagram and YouTube.

And earlier this year, Rago released her a cookbook with 130 recipes for Italian comfort food, drawn from her days with her grandmother.

One recipe from Cooking with Nonna: Sunday Dinners with La Famiglia that impressed and delighted us is Italian Meatball Cookies, which Rago says are “a chocolatey flavored cookie reminiscent of the Italian-American cookie sheets of yesteryear.” .

Her version is said to look even more meatball-like with a red icing and white nonpareilles.

Here is Grandma’s favorite recipe:This Christmas cookie has been a family favorite for 60 years

For the picture-perfect sugar cookie:Try this royal icing recipe

Italian cookies with meatballs

Makes: About two dozen cookies

Ingredients for the cookies:

• 3 cups 00 or all-purpose flour
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves, optional
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice, optional
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• ½ cup vegetable fat
• 2 packets of vanilla powder or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
• ½ cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 to 8 drops red food coloring or gel food coloring (you can add more or less to get a very red color)
• White nonpareilles or white chocolate shavings for decoration

Instructions for making the cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, spices, and espresso powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. In another large mixing bowl, combine the shortening, vanillina or vanilla extract, and sugar. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs until fully incorporated. Beat in the dry ingredients until just absorbed. Using a spoon or your hands, mix in the nuts and chocolate chips.
3. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set. Let cool on a wire rack before glazing.

Instructions for making the glaze:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and food coloring until smooth.
2. Dip the top of each cookie in the red icing and drain the excess off the cookies over a wire rack. Decorate with white nonpareilles or white chocolate shavings so the cookies look like meatballs with gravy and grated cheese.

Nonna’s Tip: If you love the look of these cookies but aren’t a fan of spices, you can omit the amount of spices or adjust them to your liking. The chocolate flavor of the cookies is lovely in itself!

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