Nothing Says Christmas Like an Overflowing Italian Cookie Plate
by: Dina Di Maio While Italians have many special Christmas foods and traditions, nothing says holidays in an Italian-American household like the start of the cookie baking season. Every nonna, mama, and zia (aunt) has her specialty cookie from a safely guarded recipe written on a crinkled paper worn with time. Cookies colored red and green, powdery balls of nutty goodness, jam-filled sandwiches and more are piled high into Mount Vesuvius-like mounds atop crystal plates and serving trays. These cookie…