Italian Knot Cookies
Let me share with you two holiday family favorites from my husband’s side of the family. His grandfather was Italian, full Italian, and his grandmother Croatian. I know that it’s not quite the same without Brian’s grandfather playing his accordion in the background and his grandmother’s secret ingredient– the love that came from her years of experience. – But I do my best to add something from the past to our holiday table each year.
The following are two wonderful Christmas favorites, one from each of their families.
Italian Knot Cookie Recipe: From the Piziali side.
You will need:
- 5 1/2 c. Flour
- 3/4 c. Butter
- 1 1/2 c. Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
- 4 Eggs
- 1/2 c. Milk
- 1 Tsp. Anise Extract
- 1 Tsp. Lemon Extract
1. Place flour in large mixing bowl and with a pastry blender
2. In a small bowl lightly beat eggs with milk and extracts. Stir in all flour till moistened. Turn out dough on well floured surface and knead till smooth (about 2 min.). Place back in bowl.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven 325 degrees.
5. Cut off small amount of dough and roll on highly floured surface into 6 inch strips. Twist /tie into knots and place on cookie sheets.
6. Bake 15 minutes or till lightly browned in oven. Remove and cool; do not over cook.
For Frosting: Mix Powdered Sugar and Milk to make glaze and add Christmas Sprinkles if desired. Enjoy!
Walnut Povitica
Walnut Povitica- from the Urich side. Pronounced ( Poh-vee-TEET-sah). The word makes me think of Christmas even though it wasn’t a tradition that I myself grew up with. This nut roll is a Slovenian favorite. It can be filled with various other ingredients but in our family it was always walnuts.
If you’d like to make this delicious roll you will need:
For the dough
- 2 to 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/3 c. milk
- 1.4 c. butter
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
For the walnut filling
- 3 c. ground walnuts
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1/4 c. honey
- 1 slightly beaten egg
- 3 tbsp. milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
In a bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the package of yeast. Set it aside. In a saucepan, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt till warm (120-130 degrees) and the butter almost melts. Add to flour mixture. Then add 2 eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 sec. and high speed for 3 minutes. Next, using a Wooden Spoon, add as much of the remaining flour as possible.
On a lightly floured surface knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. ( Kneading from 3-5 minutes will accomplish this.) Shape in a ball and place in a greased bowl turning once to grease surface of dough ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double-approximately 1 hour.
While the dough is rising in a warm spot, make the filling. Mix walnuts, sugar, butter, honey, beaten egg, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
Punch dough down and let rest 10 minutes. While you wait grease 2 loaf pans and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. After 10 minutes roll dough out on a floured surface to make about a 15 in. square. Cover and let rise another 10 min. Roll again but this time try to roll out the dough to about a 20 to 25 in. square. Then cut into 2 rectangle dough pieces, one for each loaf pan. Now spread the filling on both dough rectangles leaving an inch on each end of the dough. Once filing is spread well on top both of them, roll each one like a jelly roll or in cinnamon roll style. Except instead of slicing, punch ends and seam the bottom to completely shut the roll. Lastly, place loaf in greased loaf pan seam side down. Cover and let rise one last time until it has once again doubled it’s size.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 45-50 minutes or till golden brown. If the outside browns too quickly then just cover with foil the last 10 or 15 minutes. The type of pan you use may also effect cook time so make the necessary adjustments.
Remove from pans and cool. This recipe makes 2 loaves and 32 servings. We like to enjoy this on Christmas morning with coffee.
