Star Wars Italian Food: Anakin and Padme Wedding Cookies Recipe AKA Barely Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe

I can't seem to help myself...I'm still cooking/baking Italian!!! It's what I know. I don't know how to cook UKish, yet. 😄  We love, love, love Italian Wedding cookies. Not only the perfect almond flavoring, but also the way they sweetly MELT in one's mouth. Yum!!!

Real Italian Flavor!

One of the things about most Italian Wedding Cookie Recipes is they are made with only vanilla flavoring. That's not how it's done in our "barely Italian" family. We use flavors one would expect coming from Italy...and we like it better than the ones we have bought anywhere else. However, one can adjust the flavorings if they are making these into Mexican Wedding Cookies or Russian Teacakes. For instance, you might want to use Mexican vanilla and cinnamon in the Mexican Wedding Cookies. In Russian Teacakes, you might want to substitute some honey and ground walnuts for a more traditional flavor.

Roll 3 Times!

Also, many people only roll their cookies once in confectioner's sugar, but we roll each cookie three times in the powdered sugar to make sure the layer is thick for three reasons: (1) Wedding cookies are not that sweet on their own...they pick up most of their sweetness from the outer layer of powdered sugar. (2) The wedding cookies stay softer by being enclosed in this thick layer, less chance of drying out. (3) Most Italians believe strongly in the "Trinity" and the "three-strand cord wedding" and it's symbolic.

And don't forget the free printable Star Wars Party Food Label!!! 

Star Wars Italian Food:
Anakin and Padme Wedding Cookies Recipe
AKA Barely Italian Wedding Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups salted butter, melted
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond meal
• 3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon almond extract or amaretto extract (whichever you prefer)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Extra 2 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) for rolling baked cookies



Nonna's Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary; Parmesan Mashed Potatoes Cooked in Milk.  Prepared from "Make It Italian" by Nancy Verde Barr


Buongiorno miei amata amici!

Garrison Keillor once said, “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” I concur when we are speaking of Make It Italian by Nancy Verde Barr. It is not a new release, first published in 2002. However, out of the mountains of Italian cookbooks I have examined the last few years, this is my easily my favorite. “Why?” Because this is that unique cookbook, to which I always return for learning how to cook Italian.

Want me to get to the nitty gritty?

Cons: It lacks photos of the dishes and explanation of some of the techniques. I wish they would reprint this book with that input and it would rate six stars on a five star scale. May my dream become a reality!!!

Nancy Verde Barr - Author & Chef My Nonna in the Kitchen!

Pros: Nancy goes through the flavors that say Italian in chapter one. This is an essential chapter for anybody who was not born and raised in Italy. She explains all the various types of cooking fats, as well as how to use them. Then she teaches you about the aromatics, herbs and spices that speak Italian. On she goes through the list teaching you about key ingredients and the techniques to make them articulate Italian! :) 


In recipes, Nancy teaches us the main themes and then gives us variations. She encourages one to develop their own alterations of her recipes to make them their very own. She teaches one about flexibility, when one plans to make something and is missing an ingredient...her Nonna and mine never gave up, they found a substitute ingredient. Maybe it was because my Grandmas/Nonnas lived through the Great Depression that they understand how to make do with what you have on hand. It is a skill to desire and acquire.

"Make It Italian" Book Review My Nonna in the Kitchen!

I have gone from following Italian recipes to creating my own and sharing them on my Italiano Connection blog, in part thanks to this book. Nancy’s warmth spills through on every page and I feel like she is with me in the kitchen, guiding me through my Italian amateur chef endeavors. I owe more to this Italian cookbook than all the others combined.