Let me check a few things here. It’s after Halloween- check! It’s cold out- check! Okay, all done, those are my only two requirements to start the 2021 holiday baking season! Heck, it doesn’t even really have to be cold, does it? After Halloween, we holiday with a brief one-day time out for Thanksgiving, am I right? I decided to start out with someone easy and family friendly this year. My schedule was packed this week and I also had two little kids desperate to get their hands on something to “help” me bake. These Italian Christmas Cookies fit the bill perfectly, and I couldn’t wait to bring them here and share them with you!
Flavoring the Cookies
Okay, you say, I know these cookies and I don’t like them because I hate the way anise tastes. No worries, fellow baker, because I also dislike the taste of anise! My recipe has absolutely no anise in it. Instead, I use vanilla and almond. What’s fun is that you can go ahead and substitute whatever extract you like the best for the almond and leave the vanilla in the recipe. I debated using peppermint when I made this batch, but I have so many minty things on my baking schedule that I decided to keep these cookies a little more simple and appealing to a crowd with the vanilla/almond combo. It must have worked, because I made 30 of these little guys yesterday and there are none left this morning! And of course, if you love the traditional anise taste, go ahead and substitute that in for the almond instead.
Refrigerating the Dough
Please don’t skip this step, bakers. I know sometimes time is short, but this dough is really sticky and rolling it into balls will just be an exercise in frustration if you skip the refrigeration step. If you know the day you want to bake them has a tight timeline, go ahead and make this dough the day before and let it sit, wrapped in plastic wrap, overnight. I’ve done this before and it works beautifully. But please, give your dough at least an hour of chill time in the refrigerator before baking. Your sanity will thank you! If you want a great, no-refrigeration holiday cookie dough project, try my holiday wreath cookies here!
Icing the Cookies
Traditionally, these cookies are iced with a plain old white confectioner’s sugar glaze and then sprinkled with some colored nonpareils. Since I really wanted to kick off my “holiday” baking, I decided to color the icing instead (my favorite gel colors are here on Amazon!) and use white nonpareils instead. The icing I made for this blog post uses a little bit of vanilla extract but just like flavoring the cookies, you can go ahead and change it to peppermint for a real holiday kick – or whatever else you like!
Italian Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2¼ cup flour all purpose
- 2 tsp baking powder
Cookie Icing
- 2¼ cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp nonpareil sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Next, add the extracts and eggs to the bowl and beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Gradually add this bowl to the butter mixture, mixing just until fully combined.
- Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap the dough completely. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into small balls (about 1 Tbsp) each and place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, cookies will brown on the bottom but should stay pale on top.
- Allow cookies to cool completely while you make the icing. Whisk together all ingredients, adding more milk (by the ½ tsp) or confectioner's sugar until icing is at the consistency you like for spreading.
- After icing each cookie and before moving on to the next, sprinkle a few nonpareils on top. Icing will harden in about 20 minutes.
Well, how did these cookies turn out for you? Make sure to let me know if you have any questions or thoughts by using the comment box below- or follow me on Facebook and interact with me in real time! Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and happy baking!
