Italian Sugar Cookies
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Anginetti are dense, cake-like Italian Sugar Cookies traditionally served at Easter, Christmas or weddings in southern Italy. These lightly sweetened, vanilla-almond flavored cookies are a decadent treat that can be made in advance and frozen, making your holiday prep a little bit easier!
Italian Sugar Cookies Recipe (Anginetti)
One of my favorite Italian traditions is that whether it’s a holiday or a wedding, there is always a cookie table piled high with contributions from all of your distant relatives.
Usually, it’s a time to show off a bit and it’s when the fanciest of cookies get baked – but these simple, southern Italian cookies (originating in Naples) always make an appearance. And thank goodness, because they are such a treat!
While these Italian sugar cookies are similar to Italian lemon drop cookies, lemon drops incorporate lemon zest and extract and the dough is twisted to form a shape similar to garlic knots. This recipe doesn’t call for any lemon, but you can alter it if you want a bright, lemony cookie.
Italian sugar cookies have a dense, moist crumb and are perfect for dunking in tea or coffee. The simple icing glaze helps seal in the moisture of these 2-bite cookies, and gives the cookies a boost of sweetness (as the actual cookies are only lightly sweetened).
There is a huge flavor difference between these homemade Italian sugar cookies and store-bought versions. I find store-bought versions dry and the icing on them somewhat waxy, so if you’ve had the store-bought versions in the past and not liked them, still give this recipe a try. I guarantee you and your guests won’t be disappointed!
Anginetti (Italian Sugar Cookies) Variations:
- A lot of recipes call for lemon, so you can swap out the almond extract for lemon extract and include the zest of 1 lemon. (Rub the zest into the white sugar for the best flavor.)
- Incorporate anise, either by using extract or a dash of powdered anise
- Swap out the coloured sprinkles for lemon zest if you include lemon extract
- Dye the vanilla glaze in colours to match your special occasion
- Swap out 1/2 of the shortening for olive oil for a flakier texture
- The red, white and green Christmas sprinkles also work to pay homage to the Italian origins of this recipe, so you can stick to the same color palette anytime of year. However, if serving at a birthday or wedding, you can swap out the sprinkle colours to suit your occasion.
Anginetti Italian Sugar Cookies FAQs
What does Anginetti mean? Anginetti means sugar cookies, or iced cookies, but it has commonly come to mean Italian Wedding Cookies or Italian Knot Cookies.
How to store Italian Sugar Cookies: these cookies can be kept for up to a week at room temperature in an airtight container.
How to freeze Italian Sugar Cookies: To freeze, use parchment or wax paper in between layers of the baked cookies and store in an airtight freezer bag or your favourite freezer containers (this set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain).
The cookies will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just take them out of the freezer about an hour before you plan to serve them to allow them to thaw.
More Classic Christmas Cookies:
- Double Chocolate M&M Cookies
- Christmas Cornflake Cookies
- Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
- Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
- Walnut Cookies
- Glazed Gingerbread Cookies
- Fruitcake Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies from Greedy Eats
Ingredients for Italian Sugar Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Vegetable Shortening
- White Sugar
- Eggs, room temperature
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
Optional Icing Glaze:
- Powdered Icing Sugar
- Whole Milk or Cream
- Melted Butter
- Vanilla or Almond Extract
- Christmas Sprinkles, as desired
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: traditionally, this recipe would use self-rising flour, but we’ve adjust the recipe to use all-purpose flour and baking powder.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Sheets
- Cooling racks <– I have and love these tiered cooling racks, they save so much counter space and are also oven-safe
- Small bowl, for holding the sprinkles
- Cookie Scoop
How to Make Italian Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 400F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs and extracts for 30 seconds, then add half of the flour mixture. Beat until fully incorporated, then add remaining half of the flour mixture.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookies on the prepared mats. For a more smooth appearance, you can roll the cookies into balls but that is optional.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just lightly golden and cookies start to crack on top.
Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
For the icing, whisk together powdered icing sugar, milk, melted butter and your choice of flavor extract and adjust the consistency with additional powdered sugar or milk.
Portion one tablespoon of the icing onto each cookie and add sprinkles.
Allow icing to dry for 30 minutes before serving or storing.
Pin this Easy Italian Sugar Cookies recipe for your next special occasion:
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Italian Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Shortening
- 3/4 cup White Sugar
- 3 Eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
For the Optional Icing Glaze:
- 2 cups Powdered Icing Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Whole Milk or Cream
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla or Almond Extract
- Christmas Sprinkles, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in eggs and extracts for 30 seconds, then add half of the flour mixture. Beat until fully incorporated, then add remaining half of the flour mixture.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the cookies on the prepared mats. For a more smooth appearance, you can roll the cookies into balls but that is optional.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just lightly golden and cookies start to crack on top.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.
- For the icing, whisk together powdered icing sugar, milk, melted butter and your choice of flavor extract and adjust the consistency with additional powdered sugar or milk.
- Portion one tablespoon of the icing onto each cookie and add sprinkles.
- Allow icing to dry for 30 minutes before serving or storing.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 160Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 99mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 2g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your family likes these traditional Italian cookies as much as mine does!
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