Italian Christmas Cookies

These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!
 These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!

Has the Christmas fever started shaking you?
I’m burning! More specifically, I’m burning, because I want everything, but I’m managing to finish nothing. I have xx tabs opened with recipes that I want to prepare, eat, erase from the “to do” list because it isn’t good to transfer all of that into the New Year, right ?

But it’s just not happening the way I would like … and this terrible weather! I’m waiting for noon to begin to take photos, the closer the time, the darker it becomes. I’ll never get used to winter time.

 These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!

Soooo, back to today sweet treat.

One part of the Christmas and New Year’s magic, which gives a special flavor to the holidays is certainly – cookies. Easy to prepare, these colorful cookies, crunchy outside and incredibly soft inside, are an unavoidable and very popular part of the Italian festive cuisine. Their lightly sweet taste is again as most Italian cookies, perfect for dipping in espresso….or wine!

Ready to make Italian Christmas Cookies?  I thought so.


4.6 from 20 reviews
Italian Christmas Cookies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • Cookies
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 3½ cup flour
  • 4 tsp.baking powder
  • Icing
  • 2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 6 tsp. water
Instructions
  1. Cookies
  2. In a bowl sift together the flour and baking powder , set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Mix in the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture.
  5. Knead until dough is firm and not sticky, adding more flour if necessary.
  6. Refrigerate 1 hour.
  7. Cut off small amount of dough and roll on floured surface into 6 inch strips.
  8. Twirl into shape and place on greased cookie sheets.
  9. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes (the bottom should be lightly browned but the tops should remain light).
  10. Remove cookies to wire rack and cool completely before glazing.
  11. Icing
  12. Combine the Icing ingredients in a bowl until just smooth. You want it more thick than thin, but still runny.
  13. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze, then return to the wire rack, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides of the cookie.
  14. Top with sprinkles, while glaze is still wet.


 These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!
These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!

 These Italian Christmas cookies have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Try them and see for yourself how delicious they are!

39 thoughts on “Italian Christmas Cookies

  1. Pingback: Italian Christmas Cookies | Kessler's Kitchenette

  2. Linda Coughlin

    Thanks so much for this recipe. It looks like a delicious Christmas cookie. I’d like to make it as one of the desserts for my Christmas party but I’m not clear on what you mean by “Serves 24”. Does that mean the yield is 24 cookies? Or does it serve 24 people who would probably eat 2-3 cookies each.

    Reply
  3. Maria

    I love to cook and bake. Always looking good for something new. I enjoy giving food as gifts as well as cooking for my extended family and friends.

    Reply
  4. Ashley

    I’ll be making these this afternoon, can’t wait! Topping them with sugar sprinkles instead, the nonpareils are GONE from my grocery store LOL. Any idea how this recipe behaves when doubled?

    Reply
  5. Tom

    Good recipe, was excited to try it but nowhere do I see a yield or number of servings this recipe makes. I’m not wasting my time if I get like a dozen cookies.

    Reply
  6. Marissa

    These cookies are AMAZING! I made them for the first time yesterday and my family loved them! They taste as if they came straight out of a bakery! Defiantly a keeper! My grandfather from Italy was very pleased with these delicious balls of dough!

    Reply
  7. Lucia

    My family has made these cookies for years only with Anise extract in both the dough and frosting. In Italian they are called Zuccarini. Recipe from Naples 3 generations. One of my favorites!

    Reply
    1. cindy fritz

      my family has made them with anise for generations also. we make little balls of dough, not the rope rolled up. and we use melted shortening.

      Reply
  8. Phyllis Bryant

    I have this recipe but I don’t make the 6″ strips. I just use a 1″ cookie scoop and roll dough from the scoop in my hands to a nice ball and bake them. It’s a lot faster then the strips and they come out perfectly fine. I also use anise for the flavoring.

    Reply
    1. Stephanie Doublait

      Was about to say the same thing when I saw your comment. Scooping balls is definitely the way to go! I make these every year and they are always a favorite!

      Reply
  9. diane

    These cookies are a staple in my house for every holiday and I adjust the extract accordingly. Halloween and Thanksgiving I use pumpkin extract in the cookies and vanilla in the icing, for Christmas, anise flavoring in the cookies and fresh lemon juice instead of water in the icing, and for Easter, orange or lemon extract in the cookies and fresh orange or lemon juice in the icing and tint the icing with spring pastel colors. This recipes is very good and very versatile!! Thanks!

    Reply
  10. Malissa

    These turned out great. I remember making them with my grandmother a few tiimes as a child. She also would use fresh lemon juice in her icing and lemon rin.d. so that was the only adjustment I made to the recipe. She was born in sorrento italy in 1926 and this is how she remembers making it to.

    Reply
  11. Pingback: Christmas Cookie Recipes – Cathy

  12. Harli Spence

    Made these last year for my daughter’s dance Christmas party. Everyone loved them and fought over taking them home. Huge hit, making them for this year’s bake sale!

    Reply
  13. Melody

    how long do they keep? I do a lot of baking and need to be able to keep for Christmas, also does the icing get hard so you can store easy? Thanks for your help can’t wait ti bake.

    Reply
  14. Pat

    I have been making for years from my mothers recipee. . I I use lemon extract instead of vanill and about a tablespoon of grated lemon rind.d, then dip them with a lemon icing

    Reply
  15. Scott

    My mom made these cookies for decades, along with my favorite pizzelles. Her family called these cookies (guessing on the spelling) ‘tatta-luch’. What I always found more amazing was the “way” she made them. Rather than coil them on a table, she would wrap the dough around her little finger and then when she’d pull it off it would slightly flatten the coils.

    Reply
  16. Cait

    These look amazing! Does anyone know if they freeze and thaw well?? Looking to add to my cookie platter. Thank you!

    Reply
  17. NEYSA

    I am a bit disappointed in the way my cookies turned out. I followed the recipe to a T. Firstly, the batter was really sticky, even after combining all of the flour mixture and placing in fridge. I didn’t want to add anymore flour as it might have made them dry and/taste like flour. Once baked, the cookies did not hold their shape, however, they do have a cake like texture. Still turned out delicious, just wish they came out like the others that commented and like the photo.

    Reply
  18. Gina

    I used to make these with my mom at Christmas until she passed away 21 years ago. I still make them every year for Christmas, they are a favorite with many. I use either almond or anise in my icing. My mom taught me to roll the long string of dough around my fingertip to form the cookies, it does takes longer, to save on time just roll on a ball, taste the same. Love the memories of making these cookies

    Reply
  19. Kerry Toney

    After reading comments, I opted for the cookie scoop method. I used my 1” scoop for uniformity and rolled into balls by hand. It made 45 cookies. I followed the recipe exactly as instructed except added a little lemon juice to the icing. My oven bakes a little hot. With parchment paper, cookies were perfect at 7.5 minutes at 370 deg. They are delicious, will definitely make again. Picture has been uploaded.

    Reply

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