Italian wedding cookies are dipped in a creamy icing glaze and are a traditional holiday cookie brought out around Christmas by most grandmas. Topped with sprinkles and made with love, their taste feels just like home.
What are Italian Cookies? They are made with a mixture of almond extract, flour, sugar, and eggs while topped with icing glaze and rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.
You will find these delicious cookies made for special occasions like baby showers and birthday parties or handed out to bridal parties as a thank you gift. The soft cookies are known for their almond flavor and their small ball design. Similar to snowball cookies, expect plenty of displays during the holiday season.
The sugar glaze is complemented by the nutty flavor found in the almond extract. The perfect treat to add to any dessert table!
Cookie Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
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If you don’t like almond extract, you can substitute out this ingredient for vanilla which will soften the flavor. However, traditionally, Italian cookies are made with almond extract.
Icing Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
- rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
How Do You Make Italian Wedding Cookies?
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla using a paddle attachment or a hand mixer. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until blended.
Using tablespoon portion scoop, scoop dough into balls and roll in your hands until smooth. Aim for 1-inch balls, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Place onto a baking sheet or cutting board covered with wax paper. This will allow for easy clean-up.
This Italian wedding cookie recipe requires you to refrigerate your batter for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 and place cookies, 2″ apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9 minutes. Let set on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing cookies from the baking sheet and setting them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cookies are completely cooled, mix together icing and frost. Add powdered sugar, pure vanilla extract, and milk to a bowl and mix well until the creamy glaze forms. The icing is somewhat thick so it won’t roll right off the soft Italian cookies.
Dredge cookies, upside down into the icing and place onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles. You could use colorful sprinkles, but these are the traditional kind. Repeat until all cookies are frosted. Let it set until the icing hardens. Store covered. Makes 30 cookies.
Are you ready to try these soft, almond flavored cookies?
Decorate These Italian Christmas Cookies
Ready for a nice spin on a traditional Italian cookie classic? Instead of using rainbow sprinkles, opt for red and green sprinkles and change the entire look of this festive dessert with little to no effort. You can actually transform this base design into anything you need – think orange and yellow for Halloween! The choices are endless!
Tips and Variations
- As a reminder, you can opt-out of using the almond extract, and instead, use other extracts like vanilla, anise, or lemon.
- Store your leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
- Consider making a crescent shape instead of a ball to give this cookie design a different look.
- Add ground almonds to the batter to include a bit of a bite!
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Italian Cookies Recipe
Italian cookies are dipped in a creamy icing glaze and are a traditional holiday cookie brought out around Christmas by most grandmas. Topped with sprinkles and made with love, their taste feels just like home.
Ingredients
- Cookie Ingredients:
- * 2 eggs
- * 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- * 1/2 cup white sugar
- * 1 teaspoon vanilla
- * 2 cups all-purpose flour
- * 2 teaspoons baking powder
- * 1 teaspoon salt
- Icing Ingredients:
- * 2 cups powdered sugar
- * 1 teaspoon vanilla
- * 3 tablespoons milk
- * rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- Whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until blended.
- Using a tablespoon portion scoop, scoop dough into balls and roll in your hands until smooth. Place onto a baking sheet or cutting board covered with wax paper.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 and place cookies, 2" apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9 minutes. Let set on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing cookies from the baking sheet and setting them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are completely cooled, mix together icing and frost. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to a bowl and mix well until icing forms. The icing is somewhat thick so it doesn't just roll right off the cookie.
- Dredge cookies, upside down into the icing and place onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles. Repeat until all cookies are frosted. Let set for the icing to harden. Store covered. Makes 30 cookies.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 113Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 1g