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Traditional Italian Christmas Cookies are soft and buttery, topped with a sweet glaze and festive sprinkles!
These bitesized cookies are a holiday version of our classic Italian Cookies, with similarities to our Snowball Cookies and Mexican Wedding Cookies.
Italian traditions
Italian Christmas cookies are a family favorite during the holiday season. They’re a holiday twist on our classic Italian Cookies Recipe that taste amazing!
There’s so much to love about them!
- Simple. Don’t be intimidated by how long they take to make! Most of it is chill time. The cookies and glaze are both very easy to make.
- Bite sized. They’re so cute and bite-sized – great for parties and cookie plates.
- Festive. You can use all kinds of decorative sprinkles to make them festive for Christmas, or any holiday for that matter!
Ingredients
- large eggs – Room temperature eggs incorporate best with other ingredients.
- vegetable oil
- sugar
- almond extract – Traditional Italian Christmas cookies use anise extract, which tastes a bit like black licorice. I opted to use almond extract, but lemon extract, vanilla extract, or orange extract can also be used.
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- powdered sugar
- salt
- heavy cream – or milk
- Christmas sprinkles – I love the classic Christmas nonpareils sprinkles or other holiday sprinkles. Red or green sugar crystal sprinkles would also work.
How to make Italian Christmas Cookies
- COOKIE DOUGH. Whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, and extract in a mixing bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
- CHILL. Roll dough by tablespoonfuls into balls. Chill balls of dough for at least an hour, or freeze for 15-20 minutes.
- SCOOP. Use a cookie scoop, to scoop out dough, roll into balls and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- BAKE. Bake at 350° for about 9 minutes, or till the tops are set. Bottoms will be lightly browned, but tops should still be white. Remove cookies to cooling racks and cool completely.
- GLAZE. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk till smooth, adding enough warm cream to get a thin but creamy consistency.
- DIP. Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, then top them with Christmas sprinkles.
Recipe Tips
- Baking temperature. Since ovens can bake differently, bake 1-2 test cookies before making a larger batch and adjust the timing accordingly. They should only take 8-10 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- Texture. A tough cookie texture can be caused by overmixing the gluten so try not to overmix the dough.
- Flat cookies can be caused by expired baking powder or not enough flour.
- Mix-ins. Mix in up to 1 cup of chopped nuts (almond, pistachios, or walnuts) or mini chocolate chips or even a dash of cinnamon.
Storing Info
Make ahead of time. The glaze can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm it up a bit to add it easily to the cookies.
STORE baked Italian Cookies (with or without the glaze).
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
- Freezer: Place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 weeks.
STORE cookie dough for up to 4 days in the fridge, just be sure to roll the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap.
FREEZE cookie dough. Roll into balls, then line them up on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer until they are solid. Transfer them to a freezer Ziploc and freeze for 2-3 months. (You can also freeze the dough in a log form wrapped with plastic and again with foil.)
For more holiday cookies, try:
Italian Christmas Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond anise, or vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 3-4 tablespoons cream or milk, warmed
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, and extract in a mixing bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Roll dough by tablespoonfuls into balls. Chill balls of dough for at least an hour, or freeze for 15-20 minutes. Place cold dough balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350° for about 9 minutes, or till the tops are set. Bottoms will be lightly browned, but tops should still be white. Remove cookies to cooling racks and cool completely.
- For the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk till smooth, adding enough warm cream to get a thin but creamy consistency.
- Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, then top them with Christmas sprinkles.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe. I used vanilla extract for the cookies and lemon extract for the icing with the sprinkles. My batch made 28 cookies as they were slightly larger than 1” balls. I believe the recipe was for 30. Anyway, I highly recommend this recipe. 🙂
I’m so sad this recipe is giving me so much trouble! I made one batch of 60 and I thought I did something wrong because the dough wasn’t easy to make into balls so I tossed it. Then I tried to make another batch and froze it which seemed to help! Then I decided to make 90 cookies and for some reason the dough was super crumbly and I couldn’t mix it to the right consistency! I’m going to try and make another batch of 60 and hope that goes well! I followed every step exactly so I’m very frustrated and upset about all the wasted ingredients
Can you substitute canola oil for these cookies?
I used vanilla instead of almond since I didn’t have it, and they turned out great. I like the texture of them. I think they are lovely! Not my favorite cookie ever, but definitely a nice one to have in my Christmas cookie rotation. My family enjoyed them also! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for recipes. Look sooo yummy.
I made the recipe as instructed. It is impossible to roll into balls. I’m putting in the refrigerator to see if chilling will make a difference. I don’t think I will get 30 cookies, though. Any advice?
You will definitely want to chill this dough! I think that should make a big difference. And these cookies are typically bite-sized, so if you keep them small, it should yield about 30.
I love the simplicity of this cookie! I accidentally put my batter in the refrigerator before I rolled into dough into balls, but actually, it worked out really well. They turned out great and I will keep this recipe for future Christmas 🎄
I give these 4 stars because I do a lot of baking, especially around this time of year and my large family always rate my sweets so I know which to keep saved and which are not worth making again. These cookies got the rating of “they’re ok” as apposed to “wow” for other cookies I’ve made. So although the cookies turned out as theyre supposed to and were ok, it certainly didn’t give the wow factor to my family. I won’t make again. I have to say this is my 2nd recipe I’ve made by Lil Luna and the 1st one was a complete flop despite following the recipe exactly. It was some pumpkin cream dessert that didn’t hold its shape and turned into a pudding. So far, not really impressed by the recipes but I’ll try others here and see how it goes.
Thanks for your honest feedback and for giving the recipes a try! I appreciate it!
I’ve made these and we loved them! I would like to make them for a cookie walk next week. Has anyone made in advance and froze? Does the glaze hold up?
Yes, it does hold up! If you’re worried about it though, you can freeze the baked cookies and then add the glaze closer to when you are serving. Just let the cookies thaw and add the glaze/sprinkles. The glaze can be made up to 5 days ahead of time too and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm it up a bit to add it easily to the cookies.
Can you freeze these? How long do they last in the fridge?
Yes you can freeze with or without the glaze. Or you can freeze the dough. And they last about 5 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container.
Could you sub something else for the vegetable oil?
Yes! You could use coconut oil, avocado oil or even melted butter.