Every time Nonna would have her "girlfriends" over, a.k.a other Nonne, they would usually bring over a box of old fashioned Italian butter cookies. I would inspect them in amazement as I would trace the perfect swirls of "pasta frolla" (their Italian name) that would lead to a sweet candied cherry. This recipe is as close to an Italian bakery as it gets. The dough is a pretty basic short bread cookie. I used a large star tip (the larger the better as piping these out is a bit of a labor of love) and went with a classic swirl. If your dough feels a little too stiff add an extra tablespoon of milk to smooth it out.