– For the cookies: – ¾ cup butter softened (or margarine) – ½ cup powdered sugar – ½ cup granulated sugar – 3 eggs room temperature – 3 cups all-purpose flour – 3 teaspoons baking powder – ½ teaspoon sea salt – 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – ½ teaspoon anise extract or almond extract – For the glaze: – 2 cups powdered sugar – 3 Tablespoons milk (or unsweetened almond or coconut milk) – rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Ingredients
Cook time: 9 min
Learn More
Servings
36 cookies
Type
dairy-free
prep Time
10
Learn More
Our Easy Classic Italian Christmas Cookies are a soft and sweet cake-like cookie made with anise. Not too sweet, the delicious dairy-free cookies are covered with icing and vibrant rainbow sprinkles. Add these to your cookie tray! Since you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now, you can make some homemade Italian Christmas Cookies today!
Why you’ll love these Anisette Cookies? – These cookies are soft and chewy with a hint of anise flavor. – The dough is easy to work with and can be shaped into any shape you desire, such as stars or circles. – They also have a light sweetness that makes them perfect for dunking in coffee, hot chocolate, or even eggnog! – These cookies are also popular because they freeze well and can be made in advance, making them ideal for busy holiday schedules.
What are Italian Christmas Cookies? Italian Christmas cookies are a simple type of sugar cookie made with ingredients that could be found in a pantry. Made with flour, baking powder, sugar, butter and extracts (typically anise and you could even use almond in place of anise). The cookies are not overly sweet.
Tips to make the best Italian Anise Cookies – Room temperature butter: The butter (or margarine) needs to be at room temperature. – Do not overmix the dough: When mixing together the ingredients, do not overmix. If you’re using a stand or handheld mixer, be sure not to over beat the dough. Over mixing the dough activates the gluten, which will result in a tough cookie.
Swipe up for the full recipe