Merry Christmas everyone! It is the time of year that I love most. Spending time with loved ones, the music, sharing a meal and most importantly- the holiday cookies.
In the Crowe household, we adore some good christmas cookies. A few of my favorites are peanut butter blossoms, gingerdoodles, pizzelles and italian sugar cookies. I’m not sure what it is about those italian sugar cookies- but I can’t.stop.eating.them.
These are traditionally made with anise extract, however I’m really not a fan of that. Instead, I like it with almond extract. Growing up this cookie was my Uncle Bob’s go-to that he made each year! I looked forward to them so much! Unfortunately, this year is the first year I won’t be home for Christmas, so I had to learn to make them myself.
The cookie is almost cake-like, and a little dry. But dipping them in an almond glaze…brings the whole cookie together. Add some festive sprinkles and these bad boys are ready for any holiday gathering– (or you, a Christmas movie and a Saturday night), whichever sounds better to you. I’m leaning with the second option.
Let’s jump in to the recipe!
Christmas Italian Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 3 TBSP milk
- 2 1/2 cups flour all-purpose
- 1 TBSP baking powder
Icing
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3-4 TBSP milk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Instructions
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Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
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Mix the flour and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside.
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In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar until a light pale color forms and it is smooth. About 3 minutes.
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Add in the eggs, one at a time. Then add in the almond extract.
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Add in 1/2 cup of flour mixture, then 1 TBSP of milk. Then another 1/2 cup of flour mixture and another tbsp of milk. Repeat this until all the flour and milk are gone until just combined, starting and ending with flour. Do not over mix!
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On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, drop or scoop batter out in 1 tablespoon balls. Once done, wet your fingers and smooth the tops of the cookies out.
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Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The cookies will not look brown. They will be very light in color still but the bottoms will be slightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack.
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In a small bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, almond extract and 3 tbsp of milk. Mix together until smooth. You want the icing to be thick enough to dip the cookie into but not too thin either. Kind of like pancake batter. If you need to add another Tbsp of milk, go ahead.
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Once the cookies are cooled, dip each one into the icing and set on a wire rack lined with wax or parchment paper. Top with sprinkles if desired and let them cool overnight for the icing to harden. Store in an airtight container or freeze them until Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy these Italian cookies… they’ll be gone before you know it 🙂
Xo, Melissa
