December 18, 2019 • 17 comments

Italian Christmas Cookies Recipe

Name: Italian Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 9 min
Total time: 89 min
Ingredients: 2 eggs; 6 Tbsp oil; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 tsp almond (anise, or vanilla extract); 2 cups flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 pinch salt; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 tsp almond (anise, or vanilla extract); 1 pinch salt; 3 Tbsp cream or milk (warmed (more or less))

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Italian Christmas Cookies – colorful sprinkles make these cookies look so pretty on any holiday tray! A creamy glaze makes them extra tasty!

Baking and handing out holiday treats is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks and Oreo Mint Chocolate Cookies are two of my favorites. They look festive, and are so tasty!

Before making these cookies, I had never tried an Italian cookie before. I know I’m in the minority, but I’m not a fan of sprinkles. (Don’t hate me.) They are so cute, but I don’t like biting into them. My kids, on the other hand, LOVE sprinkles, so they thought these cookies were the bomb!

Traditional Italian cookies are made with anise flavoring. But since everyone in my house detests black licorice, I opted to use almond extract instead. I made a couple cookies for myself without sprinkles, and I thought it was a perfect flavor!

With a soft, cake like texture, plenty of sweet glaze, and a spattering of colorful sprinkles, these cookies will disappear fast!

How to make Italian Christmas Cookies:

Ingredients needed:

eggs
oil (I used vegetable oil)
sugar
anise, almond, or vanilla extract
all purpose flour
baking powder
salt
powdered sugar
cream or milk (any type of cream, I used half & half)

Whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar, and extract in a mixing bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Scoop dough with a cookie scoop, then roll dough into balls.

Chill them for about an hour, or place them in the freezer for 15 minutes. They will settle a little bit because the dough is fairly soft.

Bake the cold cookie dough balls at 350° for about 9 minutes, or till the bottoms are lightly brown and the tops are set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

After the cookies are completely cooled, whip up a simple glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, extract of your choice, and warmed milk or cream.

Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze, then quickly add sprinkles before the glaze sets up.

This recipe makes about 30 cookies, but it can easily be doubled.

PRO TIPS:

-For the prettiest cookies, don’t skip the chilling step. Chilling the dough helps the cookies keep their round shape. Without chilling, they tend to spread.

-To assure that the cookies are similar sized and bake evenly, I like to use a small cookie scoop. After scooping, I roll them into balls.

-Don’t over bake, or the cookies will be dry and crumbly. They are done when the tops are set, they will continue to cook a bit after you take them out of the oven.

While these cookies are perfect for Christmas, you can change up the colors of sprinkles to match any holiday or celebration.

How to store Italian Cookies

The cookies are best eaten within a day or two after they are glazed. After that the color from the sprinkles starts to bleed. Store them in airtight containers at room temperature. I like to put a piece of waxed paper between layers so the glaze and sprinkles stay intact.

If you want to make them ahead of time, you can freeze them without the glaze, and add it the day you serve them.

No matter what time of year you make these cookies, they are sure to be a hit!

FOR MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES, CHECK OUT: