Lemon drop cookies, iced Italian cookies or anginetti, whatever your family calls them you’ll be sure to find these traditional Italian cookies at many special occasions and holiday cookie trays.
Has the Christmas fever started shaking you?
The start of the holidays is earlier and earlier every year, with Christmas displays and decoration on the high street even before Halloween is over. Arranging family travel in advance to secure reasonable ticket prices, imagining how we will decorate our tree and homes, and thinking how we can outdo last year’s celebrations. All this effort culminates over two weeks of Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
I’m probably late on the band wagon with these cookies, but honestly, why Christmas fever starts early?
Are we craving the break ? Are the holidays an excuse for a break that many of us truly need?
Is it a spiritual time or are we just happy for the break? Perhaps all of the above!
It’s rarely we have chances to slow down, visit family, visit friends or simple just take time to stay in our pajamas all day watching movies if that is what we choose, or perhaps make some other treat that is quick, easy AND delicious, like these lemon drop cookies.
They take very little time and you will become the star of the day by serving them to those you love.
Honestly, there are so many variations to this cookie, just do a Google search and you’ll see what I mean, Lemon drop cookies, iced Italian cookies or anginetti, whatever your family calls them you’ll be sure to find these traditional Italian cookies at many special occasions and holiday cookie trays. Their lightly sweet taste is again as most Italian cookies, perfect for dipping in espresso…..or wine!
Ready to make Italian Lemon Drop Cookies? I thought so.
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1⁄4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well. Add flour mixture, mix well until smooth texture. (dough will be a bit sticky) If dough seems light colored, add a drop or 2 of yellow food coloring. Chill dough until firm.
- With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
- Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
- Combine the Icing ingredients in a bowl until just smooth. You want it more thick than thin, but still runny.
- 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.
- Top with sprinkles or a little lemon zest, while glaze is still wet.
- Store in an airtight container.
- * If you want to freeze the cookies, freeze unfrosted and frost once thawed.
We loved these cookies. I doubled the extract and added a spoonful of cream cheese to the icing….DELICIOUS!!!!
Could I make KETO by using almond flour and keto sugar?
I needed you to go step by step. I don’t know what are cookie ingredients and which ones are icing ingredients. I ended up with a lemon cookie cake type thing that didn’t setup so I had to use a pie tin to bake.
I bake and freeze my Christmas cookies ahead of time because I make a lot of cookies. Can I freeze the cookies if I glaze them and let them set?