italian frosted chocolate cookies

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (such as hershey's®)
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large orange, zested
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (such as crisco®)
• 1/2 cup margarine (such as parkay®)
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or to taste
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons whole milk, or more as needed
• 1 teaspoon orange juice, or as needed
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, or more as needed

Recipe

Cook Time: 15 mins Ready Time: 9 hrs 15 mins


• preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c).
• whisk flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. stir orange zest into flour mixture. mix vegetable shortening and margarine into dry ingredients, using your hands, until mixture is crumbly.
• beat eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until foamy; add egg mixture, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup milk to flour mixture and knead dough in the bowl until thoroughly combined and dough doesn't stick to your hands, about 8 minutes. dough will be stiff. knead cream cheese thoroughly into dough, followed by walnuts.
• form dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place ungreased baking sheets.
• bake cookies in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. cool cookies on racks.
• beat 3 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon orange juice, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a bowl until smooth; gradually beat in remaining confectioners' sugar until frosting is thick and drizzles slowly from a spoon.
• dip tops of cookies into frosting and place frosted cookies on racks with waxed paper underneath to catch drips. let cookies dry overnight.