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5 from 2 votes

Nonna's Easy Italian Christmas Cookies

Our Classic Italian Christmas Cookies are a soft and sweet cake-like cookie. Not too sweet, the delicious 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!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time9 minutes
chilling time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 19 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Christmas cookies, Cookies
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 121kcal
Author: Lora

Ingredients

For the cookies:

For the glaze:

Instructions

For the cookie dough:

  • In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and the sugars until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time; mix well.
  • Beat in the extracts (you could use vanilla and anise, or almond extract).
  • Add the flour one cup at a time, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and incorporate the flour. Do not overbeat (just mix until incorporated).
  • Divide the dough into two sections. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for one hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • Line baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Scoop out dough a small portion at a time and roll dough into 1-inch balls.
  • Place cookies spread apart on the sheets and bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the bottom (every oven is different so check them at 8 minutes).
  • Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

For the glaze

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and milk, until it forms a thick but pourable glaze. If it gets too thin, add a little more confectioners' sugar. Drizzle or spoon onto each cookie, add the sprinkles and let completely set before storing them.

Notes

Tips to make the best Italian anise cookies

  • Room temperature butter: The butter (or margarine) needs to be at room temperature.
  • Do not over mix the dough: When mixing together the ingredients, do not over mix. 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.
  • Wrap dough in portions: Separate the dough into two or three portions and wrap with some plastic wrap to chill.
  • Chill the dough: Once you have the dough wrapped, chill in the refrigerator until it is firm. Depending on how big you separate out the portions you wrapped, it could take an hour or two to chill. Chilled dough means the cookies won't spread when they bake.
  • Spray hands with baking spray: To shape the dough into balls, it helps to spray your hands with some baking spray before rolling.
  • Keep an eye on cookies while they bake: Set the timer as a guide. Every oven is different. The bottom of the cookies will be a light golden color and the top should not brown at all. The texture will be soft still, so take care not to over bake.
  • Cool cookies completely: Give your glaze another stir before topping the cookies. As soon as the cookies have cooled completely, spoon on the glaze or dip the cookies in the glaze. If the cookies are still warm, the glaze will melt and slide right off.
  • Add on the sprinkles: While the glaze is still wet, add on the rainbow sprinkles. You could even use red and green sprinkles. Whatever you prefer.

Nutrition

Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg