Italian Meatball Cookies

In my last post I shared a family recipe from my grandma's side of the family.  Today I am going to share a holiday family recipe from the Caccamo side of the family.  This recipe has been in my family for many years.  It was my grandpa Caccamo's sister's recipe, my Great Aunt Mary. My cousins and I recently started emailing old family recipes back and forth to each other and this was one my cousin forwarded to us.  My great Aunt Mary has passed, but this recipe lives on through her family members who are still making them today. 

Please Click Here for Printable Version

Ingredients:

~*~This recipe makes about 15-16 dozen cookies~*~

* 1 cup of room temperature Crisco Shortening (original, not butter flavor)
* 1 1/2 cups of Granulated Sugar
* 3 large Eggs
* 1 cup of 2% OR Whole Milk
* 1 tsp. of Vanilla
* 4 1/2 cups of Flour
* 5 tsp. of Baking Powder
* 1 TBSP. of Cinnamon
* 1 TBSP. of ground Nutmeg
* 1 1/2 tsp. of ground Cloves
* 3/4 cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
* 1 cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies
* 1 cup of chopped Walnuts
* 1/2- 1 cup of Golden Raisins
~*~Note~*~ this is the original recipe, but feel free to leave out the raisins, nuts or chocolate chips or feel free to add more of one than the other. 

Procedure:

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
* In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the Shortening, Sugar, and Eggs

* Add, the Milk and Vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

* In a separate bowl put, the Flour, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, and Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Give a quick stir.

* Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix Well with a strong spatula.

* fold in the Walnuts, Chocolate Chips and Raisins until they are fully incorporated into the dough.

* Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

* Bake for 9-10 minutes on 350 degrees

* Place on cooking rack when done.

* Once completely cool start making the glaze.

Glaze Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup of 2% or Whole Milk
* 2 cups of Confectioners Sugar

Procedure:

* Warm the milk
* Put the confectioners Sugar in a bowl and slowly add in a little milk at a time and whisk until you get the right consistency.  If it is too thin, add more confectioners sugar.  It should only be slightly runny.

* Dip the top of the cookie into the glaze and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  While wet you have the option of sprinkling the crystal red and green sprinkles on top. (I forgot to buy them, so mine are sprinkles).

* Once completely dry, you can store in an airtight container for about a week or freeze. 

Enjoy!

*Here is a photo of a cookie tray I made for work friends and neighbors