8 cups flour
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups Crisco
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vanilla (preferably clear vanilla)
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a very large bowl. Stir with wire whisk to blend thoroughly. Add the Crisco. Cut it in with a pastry blender till crumbly – the size of small peas. Make a deep well in the middle of mixture. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix with a large spoon or your hands, working until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Roll into small balls.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or Silpat, for 10 to 15 minutes, just until slightly colored on top and a pretty, light toasted color on the bottom. They should be just firm to the touch.
While still warm dip into a powdered sugar icing.
BISCOTTI FROSTING
This makes just the right consistency for frosting the soft biscotti. Double the recipe for a full batch of cookies.
2/3 stick oleo or butter
1 tablespoon Crisco
1 box sifted powdered sugar
Scant 1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons warm milk (or lemon or orange juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla (or lemon extract or pure almond extract is good too)
Just warm the milk. Cream butter and Crisco; mix in powdered sugar and salt. Add liquid as needed. Add flavoring.
Dip the cookies upside down in the frosting as you take them from the cookie sheet. Let them set a minute and if everything goes just right the heat will slightly melt the frosting and make a glaze. If not try either thinning the frosting a tiny bit or warming it every so slightly. Alternatively, take a knife and frost them.
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