These Italian cookies are so tender and soft with a simple vanilla glaze. They are incredibly simple to make (no chilling!) and can be formed into fun shapes too!
INGREDIENTS
- 10 tbsp (142 g) salted butter softened
- ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour + more if making shapes, see note
- 3 ½ tsps baking powder
Glaze
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ – 2 tbsp milk
- Nonpareils or sprinkles optional
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and beat into the batter until well-combined.
- Add milk, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until completely combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour and baking powder. Gradually add flour to wet mixture. At this point, the dough should be firm enough that you will be able to form it into balls. If you would like to make other shapes (loops, knots, pretzels, etc.) continue to add up to an additional 1 cup (125g) of flour until dough is manageable.
- Break off a ball of dough about 1 Tablespoon in size and roll into a ball (or form into shapes). Place cookie dough on prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2” apart.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before carefully transferring to cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
Prepare the glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk. Glaze should be very thin. Use a pastry brush to brush over completely cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with nonpareils or sprinkles, if desired.
- Allow glaze to set before enjoying.
NOTES
Flour
- 3 cups of flour should give you a dough that’s sturdy enough to be rolled and dropped. However, if you’d like to make fun shapes with the dough (pretzels, twists, etc.) you may find the dough is not thick enough. Feel free to add up to another cup (125g) of flour until the dough reaches a consistency that is shapeable. Note that the more flour you add, the more dry and less sweet the cookies will be.
Storing
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Cookies also freeze well – tightly wrap and freeze for up to several months.
