Stellini de Oro Cookies

The translation for this cookie is little golden stars. This is a nod to my Italian Heritage. I never got to know my Italian Nona very well so I never had the opportunity to learn authentic Italian cooking or traditions from her. But here's where I take my hat off to my mom because she went out of her way to learn how to make authentic Italian food from her dear friend Phyllis Gacilonne. Phyllis taught my mom how to make ravioli's, biscotti, pizelles, pizza, cannoli's, meatballs and marinara from scratch, just to name a few. My mom made biscotti for Christmas long before it was being sold at fancy coffee shops and grocery stores. Without my mom and Phyllis, I would never have learned to make some of the dishes that I consider to be a part of my heritage.

Cook's Notes- If you don't want to use yellow food coloring, you can use saffron threads instead. You need to steep them in a teaspoon or 2 of warm water before adding to the dough or glaze. Cut back on some of the orange juice in both the dough and the glaze if you opt for this method, otherwise both may be too wet.

Makes 8 dozen

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks of softened butter
zest and juice of 1 large orange
6 drops of yellow food coloring
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze
4 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup powdered sugar
4 drops yellow food coloring

gold sanding sugar

In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, orange zest, vanilla, orange juice and food coloring. Mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix with the mixer at low speed. Spoon the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap well and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Cut off a small piece of dough and roll the dough out onto a lightly floured board to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a small star cookie cutter, cut out the cookies. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake at 375 for 6-7 minutes. They should be firm to the touch but still pale. Remove to a rack and cool. Frost with glaze and sprinkle with gold sanding sugar if desired.