Ugliest Christmas Cookies Ever

   The season has been downright magical--from the street markets to the lights to the warm "Buon Natale" you get everywhere you go. The little towns of the Castelli, like Frascati, really light up at Christmas time. They are less commercialized and more joyful than what I am used to back home. People in stores are generally happy, not rushed or annoyed; the stores still close for the afternoon so that the proprietors can take their hot lunch and nap, right up to Christmas day. I appreciate that.
   But the one thing that has been a complete fail is my Christmas baking. Sugar cookies with icing--how hard could that be, even in another country?

 

    Well, for one thing, they do not sell baking powder. They sell lieveto per dolci or "leaven for sweets." But it is not proportioned at the same strength as American baking powder. So, Mary and I both experimented to find the right amount. I have settled on: 3/4 the amount that an American recipe calls for.
   For another thing, they do not sell food coloring. Well, they do, but it is in a large liquid bottle mixed with other things (I'm not sure what), not a little squeeze bottle like back home. So, when an icing recipe calls for 2 T. of liquid (such as milk) to be added to powdered sugar and food coloring, and the food coloring you put in is at least 3 T. in order to get it to be a vibrant color, you have thereby wrecked the ratio, so it is drippy and thin. And dull. Well actually, ugly.

Another thing they do not have here is corn syrup. So I googled, "substitutes for corn syrup." It said to boil water and put in sugar and create a syrup. But of course, that adds more liquid. So all in all, it was a disaster. Have you ever seen such ugly cookies? 

The only ones that turned out were ones with white icing and sprinkles. 

So, when I go back to the U.S., I am going to load my suitcase with: food coloring, light corn syrup, baking powder, canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, and Crisco. It's hard to do the holidays without them. 

    That said, ugly or not, the kids devoured multiple plates of cookies. And the holidays are wonderful all the same. The solution to the ugly cookies: Buy cannolis!! And cookies with Pope Francis printed on them!