Italian Viscots Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, sugar, shortening, milk, eggs, baking powder, and almond extract in a bowl by hand until smooth.
• Form dough into a 1-inch thick log. Cut small portions and roll into 3-inch long pieces, then shape into "S" shapes. Place on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425o F. Melt margarine and let cool. Put yeast and water in a cup and set aside to bubble. Cream together eggs, sugar, salt and cooled margarine. Add in remaining ingredients and mix, then add yeast mixture and mix again.
• Place on floured surface and knead well. Set aside 10-20 minutes. Roll into thin logs and form into pretzel shapes. Drop in boiling water. When they rise to the surface, drain on clean towel to cool and dry briefly (a few minutes.)
• Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
• Note: Because they are not very sweet, I tried my own variation on half this batch of viscots. After draining the viscots on a paper towel, I dipped them in sanding sugar (which is coarser than regular sugar) and baked them as above. They came out with a light sugar crust and were a bit sweeter to eat. Try it and let me know what you think.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 165 degrees C ).
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time; beat until fluffy. Stir in the anise and vanilla extracts. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; Add them to the egg mixture along with the chopped almonds. Stir with a spoon and as the dough comes together, Knead by hand.
• Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll each piece into a log about 15 inches long. Place logs onto cookie sheets, 2 to a sheet, the long way. Flatten the logs out until they are about 3 inches wide with a slight hump going down the middle. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, loaves should be firm. Cut the loaves into diagonal slices 1/2 inch wide, place the slices onto the cookie sheets and return to the oven. Toast on one side, then turn them over to do the other side. This will take about 7 to 10 minutes.