momma's kitchen - easter baskets
by Camille

Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter and welcome home to the newest forum here at Virtualitala.com.

I hope you will come and visit with me once a month to share our experiences together as Italian Americans. Stop in, pull up a chair, I'll make the coffee and we can share... Many of our memories are of close family gatherings filled with love and wonderful foods. Most of these food experiences are unique to our Italian American Experience. If your are like me some of the traditions are remembered however some have been forgotten through the years. I would like to share some of my experiences with you and hope this forum will enable you to reminisce those special times in your own lives. In turn, I hope you will share with me your experiences with me along with the family recipes that made these times so memorable.

Easter always brings back this memory. As a child I recall waking up to the smell of Easter dinner being prepared. It sounds corny but I love waking up to the smell of garlic cooking. What other American can say that!! Roast leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, eggplant parmigiana, and lasagna. MMMM! These are some of my fondest memories!

For dessert...my Aunt Sadie's special cookies made only at Easter. They were called Easter Baskets. Actually, we all made them together in the basement of our two family house following her direction. You see we had one of those Italian kitchens in the basement. Comedians joke about it but for me this was a reality. Now let me say that we also had a fully equipped kitchen in each of our own apartments. It just wasn't as much fun as the one in the basement. The basement kitchen was the best! It was fully finished and fully equipped and bigger than the apartment kitchen so we could all gather together, with plenty of room to spare for anyone who dropped in to say hello. It was here in this basement kitchen that memories and the best food a kid could have were made. Here is where Aunt Sadie, Mamma (my grandmother), Mom and Maria and I would make the Easter baskets. Let me describe it to you and perhaps you had the same experience. Perhaps you may just want to adopt it for your own tradition. Try them!

Aunt Sadie's Easter Egg baskets
Here are two ways to do these baskets.

Easy Recipe

First- Color Easter Eggs

Using any sugar cookie dough from the supermarket follow these preparation instructions:
Form a dough ball with softened dough about the size of you egg. Flatten the ball somewhat and place the hard boiled Easter egg right in the center. The sides of the dough should surround the egg to form a basket. Take additional dough and form a basket handle by rolling it to make a thin but not too thin pipe (for want of a better word) Place the piping over the egg. Using an egg wash brush the dough part of the cookie only. For additional decoration colored sprinkles may be used. Follow baking directions on refrigerator dough label.

Traditional Baskets- Aunt Sadie's Recipe
Colored Easter Eggs

Oven Temp.350 degrees

3-3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
4 eggs beaten
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter or butter flavored crisco. (softened)
1 -2 teaspoon vanilla or anise flavoring
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl:
Combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. Combine all liquid ingredients. Slowly add to dry ingredients. Mix well then knead gently. Once ingredients are kneaded well enough to form a ball place on clean floured counter and continue to knead. Dough should not stick to surface. If this happens slowly add more flour until dough is workable.

Take enough dough from large dough ball to form a ball the size of the hardboiled egg you are using. Flatten ball slightly. Place the egg in the center of ball. Dough should come up and surround the egg to form the basket. To form a handle for basket, roll dough to form a pipe. Place on top of egg for handle. Be sure ends of handle sticks to baskets Use an egg wash on dough part of basket only.

Bake 350 for about 18-20. Check after 18 minutes. Cookie should be a golden brown.