Italian Easter Cookies Recipe (Soft & Buttery)
Italian Easter cookies are perfectly tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! This authentic Italian cookie recipe is easy to make, too!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Icing
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- gel food coloring in purple, pink, blue and yellow
- rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamed.Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine between each.
- Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Mixture will be pale yellow and slightly separated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add half of the milk to the butter/sugar mixture, then half of the flour mixture, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour. Mix just until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to form scoops of dough. Place each scoop of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 6-7” log. Twist the log into a knot for half of the cookies. For the other half of the cookies, form donut shapes by joining the two ends of the log together - or simply roll the scoop of dough into a ball and then press your finger down into the center of it to make a hole, shaping the “donut” around your finger.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Bake for about 9 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are just slightly golden brown.
- Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all of the icing ingredients to form a smooth glaze. Divide the glaze between four bowls and add a tiny drop of gel food coloring to each bowl. Stir to distribute the coloring evenly throughout the glaze.
- Dip a cooled cookie into the glaze; hold it above the bowl for a few seconds to allow the excess glaze to drip off. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with nonpareils. Leave untouched until glaze sets and is dry to the touch.
Notes
Cookies will keep in an airtight container, on the countertop, for 4-5 days. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Italian Easter cookies are soft and almost dough-y. They melt in your mouth and are sooooo delicious. Almost like a sugar cookie, but soft and pillowy and thick. These were gone in no time in my house.
Try not to overwork the dough. It is nice and thick and does not need to be refrigerated at all. It will be just a little sticky, but sprinkling a very light layer of flour on your work surface is plenty to prevent sticking while rolling the dough into logs. Tie the knots gently so you don’t smash the dough. The cookies will puff up in the oven, so don’t worry too much about making a perfect or tight knot.
Don’t add a lot of extra flour while forming the shapes - it will make the cookies tough.
These are best baked just until the bottoms are slightly golden brown. I found 9 minutes to be the perfect amount of time. They are cooked all the way through, but so soft and tender.
To color the glaze, you need just the tiniest drop of food coloring, particularly for pastel colors. I used Americolor gel food coloring in: Lilac, Fuschia, Sky Blue, and Lemon Yellow.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 183cal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 169mg | Sugar: 25g | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg