Our seventh Family History Recipe comes from Marisa and is for Mom's Ginettes.
According to Marisa, “[t]his cookie is extremely well-known in Italian culture, and it varies. Sometimes, people use anise extract instead of lemon extract. We prefer the lemon extract.” Marisa also warns that “[y]ou need to watch the cookies so the bottoms do not burn.”
These cookies didn’t have burnt bottoms, that’s for sure! Taste Tester Owen got in a short sniff test then a big bite of cookie. You can tell he’s thinking about how to rate the ginette. He made his mind up quickly, though, and devoured the rest of this lemony and sweet treat!
Recipe: Mom's Ginettes
My Mom tweaked the original recipe from my Sicilian aunt's recipe. This cookie is extremely well-known in Italian culture, and it varies. Sometimes, people use anise extract instead of lemon extract. We prefer the lemon extract. You can roll the batter like a snake and curve it or you can roll the snake and make it into the shape of a ball.
My sister tried to half the recipe because it is a lot of work and takes about 4 to five hours to do. It did not come out the same. The cookies were good, but you really need to make the whole batter. (If you get too tired of making the cookies, you do not have to use all the batter. Just toss it.) The key to it is to make the whole batter for the taste of the cookie. – Marisa
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (8 ounces. milk)
- 1 dozen eggs
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 pounds of butter
- 8 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 ounces lemon extract
- 5 pounds flour
Directions:
- Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
- Here are some cooking instructions that I figured out along the way: You need to watch the cookies so the bottoms do not burn. You need to keep moving the cookie sheets from the bottom to the top racks every few minutes. There is no set time to leave them in the oven. You just have to watch them and touch the tops so it is not too moist and wet.
Glaze for Ginettes:
When the cookies are cool, glaze with:
- 2 pounds confectionary sugar
- 2 ounces lemon extract
- (Add water as needed to obtain liquid consistency for glaze)
Add sprinkles when you glaze the cookies
For the glaze, less water is better to obtain a thicker consistency. Add water as you go if you need to. Add the sprinkles right away or the glaze will dry too quickly.
Happy baking!