These traditional Italian cookies are served at many holidays and weddings in the old Italian neighborhood! They are very simple lightly sweetened cookies that are traditionally flavored with anise, almond, or lemon and then dipped in a sweet sugar glaze. Everyone will love them!
One of My Favorite Italian Cookies: Anginetti
Here’s a favorite, basic, Italian cookie – Anginetti (also referred to Ancinetti)! They go by a number of different names and in Italy they are made for weddings and holidays like Easter or Christmas. In the USA many people refer to them as Italian wedding cookies, Italian Christmas cookies, or Anise or anisette cookies (…but mine are almond flavored.) When they are formed into knots and flavored with lemon zest/extract, they are called lemon knot cookies.
These cookies are soooo good. They are soft, almost like a cross between a cake cookie and a traditional crispy cookie.
Growing up, it seemed that everyone’s mom or grandmother in the old neighborhood made a version of these cookies. Sometimes, when the baker would add too much flour, these cookies would taste quiet dry – but those were good for dunking in coffee!
Flavoring the Italian Cookies (Anginetti)
Traditionally, these cookies were flavored with lemon. But they are very commonly made with anise, almond, or even vanilla.
As a kid, I did not like anise-flavoring. My mom would make pizzelles the traditional way with anise as the flavoring and I’d always beg her to make them vanilla or lemon flavored instead. She eventually came around:)
But this is a very versatile recipe as far as flavorings go – feel free to substitute the almond or anise with vanilla, lemon, orange, or whatever flavoring appeals to you.
Decorating the Cookies
The traditional way to decorate these is to top them with a simple drizzle of sugar glaze and then add the rainbow non-pareils (or sprinkles), which are usually widely available at the grocery store.
Keeping Ball-Shape Cookies During Bake
When making this cookie, it’s important to refrigerate them for at least an hour in order for the cookie to bake in its characteristic tall shape. If you don’t refrigerate, they will come out flatter, more like a traditional drop cookie. Still good, but I love how they bake up if you refrigerate the dough.
I find it easiest to make the dough the day before and they bake it up the next day or so.
Notes on Dough Consistency
Please note that this dough is a little sticky. I know everyone’s definition of “a little” can vary but here is a photo of the mixed dough; hope this helps to visualize the finished dough.
Here you can see that I didn’t soften the butter too much for this particular batch:
Tips to Prevent the Sprinkles from Bleeding into the Icing:
To prevent bleeding of colors from sprinkles into the icing see the following suggestions:
- Omit the sprinkles
- Ensure cookies are cool before icing and sprinkling (since heat will cause icing and sprinkles to run)
- Don’t ice the cookies until the day you need them
- Make sure icing consistency is thick and not runny or thin
- Roll in confectionary (powdered) sugar instead of icing and sprinkles
- Make sure you use milk, not water to make the icing
- Use pastel colors, they don’t run/bleed as much
- Let the icing set a tiny bit before adding the sprinkles
- Avoid serving or frosting them on a humid day
Try Some Other Popular Cookies
Italian Wedding Cookies (anginetti)
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
- 2 ¼ cups (281.25 g) flour (all purpose)
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt
- 3 (150 g) large eggs
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter , softened (DO NOT MELT THE BUTTER (8 tablespoons))
- 1.5 teaspoons (6 g) almond extract (or anise [licorice flavor])
To make the frosting:
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 g) milk
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) almond extract (or anise extract)
To decorate
- 4 tbsp (40 g) non-pareils or sprinkles
Instructions
To make the cookie dough
- Mix the baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl and set aside
- Using a electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, butter, and extract on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy
- Add the flour/baking powder and combine slowly just until mixed.
- Using a tablespoon, roll the dough into balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F, and then bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
To Frost
- Mix the ingredients for the frosting, adding the milk one tablespoon at a time
- I prefer to use a teaspoon and pour a bit of frosting over the cooled cookies but some like to dunk their cookies in the frosting to frost
- Make sure that the cookies are completely cooled before frosting otherwise, the frosting will just drip off
- Add sprinkles/non-pareils while the frosting is still wet or they won’t stick. I usually frost a few at a time and then decorate so the frosting doesn’t dry before I have a chance to decorate
Joan Marie says
My Sicilian Grandma Rose made these too and, if they lasted a few days, they’d get a little softer and were even better. She also had variations, sometimes adding a tiny amount of chocolate or butterscotch chips. Sometimes she would change the shape, making them in a knot, but the ingredients were always the same.
Marie says
That sounds good! I’ve done the knots before – love them!
Christina says
YES! YES! YES! This must be the same recipe my Nonna used! So so delicious!! Nonna used lemon, so I used lemon juice in the icing and the cookie. I also added lemon zest to both – well, because Nonna did. She would do them with Almond or Anise, but she got better ooohhhs and aaahs when she used lemon. The texture of the cookies in this recipe is perfect! Thank you! Thank you! These are going in this year’s Christmas Cookie trays.
Marie says
Awe that’s GREAT!! I am going to try the lemon – sounds so delicious!
Sara says
Hello! I wanted to share that I made this recipe yesterday/today. I doubled it and followed the directions for 2x the amount. I used Lemon Extract as the flavoring, and I also added the zest of one lemon to the dough. I let the dough chill overnight, and before I turned on the oven I used my hands to roll the cookies into balls. I got 80 perfectly sized cookies. While the oven heated up, I placed the cookie sheets in my fridge to keep cool. They took exactly 10 minutes in my stove (it’s gas and stays really hot) and the cookies came out perfectly shaped! For the icing, I used Lemon Extract again and added a 1/4 teaspoon extra because I love lemon. This recipe is honestly one of the best I have tried outside of my grandma’s recipes and I will be making them constantly now. I made these for my wedding next week and I honestly think I’m going to make two more batches, one almond and the other anise just because they turned out SO GOOD! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Barbara chun says
Yummy Italian cookies but flat not round disappointing frustrating chilled dough 2 hours
Jo Ann says
Is it possible to make the dough into spoonful size of cookies to be baked then freeze ( uncooked) And then take out as many as you want bake?
Marie says
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not – I do this a lot with other types of cookies. The only consideration is that it would take longer to bake of course.
Eileen says
I have been making soft Italian cookies for many years. They always come out perfect. I use 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 cup butter. Have you tried that? Delicious cookies!
Marie says
I haven’t! I have heard of people doing it for pie crust to get the perfect combination of texture and taste. I’ll have to try it!
Maria says
Do you cream butter sugar and then add eggs ? My buyer and sugar always curries when I add eggs . I made sure they were all room temp
Marie says
Hi Maria, it does happen to me sometimes but i don’t think it’s affected my results – I found an interesting trick that you might want to try is adding a few tablespoons of the flour when adding the eggs –
Lisa says
How far in advance can I make these.
Marie says
They freeze well in advance but also keep well for at least 1 week or so in air tight container.
Dawn says
Can you refrigerate the dough in the bowl for the hour instead? I don’t have the room in my fridge for baking sheets of cookies 😔
Marie says
Yes, I do this sometimes – will be fine!
Mary E McCloskey says
Hi, does the frosting in your recipe harden? Just want to know for packing?
Thank you
Mary
Marie says
Yes, it does harden
Victoria Jonas says
Although I am 100% Sicilian, my parents and grandparents worked hard to Americanize us. Such a shame. We lost out on learning the language and a lot of the traditional recipes. So when I saw this and had never hear of S cookies, I just had to try them. And they rock! Will definitely be a holiday favorite in the future. Thank you so much! Note: to give mom credit she did make fig cookies and cannoli every year…two things that I could begin to imagine making. Thanks so much.
And FYI..my 2 cents. They’re better without sprinkling sugar on top only because I love the sheen on the cookies without the sugar.
Genevieve says
Hi Marie, I am a first timer making these delicious cookies. I have Italian relatives that make these often & they were always to die for!!! I am making these cookies to place in hotel welcome bags for my daughter’s wedding , so I need tons of cookies. My question is can I make these cookies 1.5 weeks ahead of time and freeze?? I am sooooo busy with other wedding details!!! Will they still taste good and when do I frost them??? I am a bit nervous as I don’t have a fancy mixer, so I will have to improvise!!! Thank you for your response!!!!
Marie says
Yes, absolutely they freeze well – I would frost after defrosting the cookies.
Cecelia Hardy says
If we make a large batch can they be frozen?
Marie says
Yes, I’d recommend freezing without the frosting
Jameia Branch says
I want to make these for my daughter’s engagement party. It’s an Italian theme can you tell me if they are sweet or simmy sweet cookies. I like the idea that it’s authentic and I do not care if they’re not as sweet as American as cookies.
Marie says
They are lightly sweet, which is why the frosting is added for more sweetness. I find a lot of italian cookies (especially my latest recipe for sesame cookies) are mildly sweet. of course, it objective….
Kallie says
Do you have the measurements in grams? I just made it exactly to the recipe and it came out runny. TIA!
Marie says
I updated it to include grams, which are programmed into the recipe card I use – the dough should look like the photo – I hope that helps. Thanks so much for the feedback, and happy baking!
Thomas Cappiello says
How do you pronounce the A?
Jenna A says
Good tasting but mine came out raw inside and I cooked them 8 mins extra and followed all instructions to a T. I measured the dough balls in tablespoons. Don’t know what I did wrong but a epic fail. Disappointing waste of time
Marie says
Never happened to me – imagining that your oven temp is off. Next time, try one and bake more if they are raw. Pretty easy fix.