Italian Christmas cookies are soft vanilla knots dipped in a milk glaze and showered with red, green and white nonpareils. That makes them a classic cookie tray addition for a cookie exchange or Christmas dinner, since every rope is tied by hand. No cutters and no rolling pin needed.
Keep the dough cold the whole time you are rolling and tying. A warm rope will not hold a knot, it just slumps open again. Work in batches and put the tray back in the fridge for ten minutes whenever it softens.
One tablespoon a cookie does not give 24 to 26. The dough weighs about 600 grams, so tablespoon ropes make closer to 37 knots. You need about an inch and a half of dough each to land on two dozen.
Italian Christmas Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: Italian, AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA soft, cake-like vanilla bean dough rolled into ropes, tied into loose knots and baked pale. Each one is dipped in a thin milk glaze and finished with Christmas nonpareils.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- For the Glaze:
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Red, green and white nonpareil sprinkles
Directions
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium for about 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time on low. Mix in the vanilla bean paste, scrape the bowl down, add all the flour mixture and mix on low just until combined.
- Chill it through: Cover the dough and refrigerate until completely cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. This dough is soft and it will not hold a knot until it is properly chilled.
- Roll and tie: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly flour the work surface, scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a 6 to 7 inch rope, then tie it in a loose knot on an insulated baking sheet. Work in batches and chill the knots 10 minutes if the dough warms up.
- Bake pale: Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until the tops look dry and set and the bottoms have only just turned gold. These should stay pale, since the glaze goes on white. Let them cool briefly on the sheet.
- Glaze and decorate: Whisk the confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla bean paste and salt until smooth and about the consistency of heavy cream. Dip the top of each cookie, let the excess run off and scatter the nonpareils on straight away. Set them glazed side up on a rack for about 30 minutes to dry.
Notes
- The original says 1 tablespoon of dough for 24 to 26 cookies, but the dough weighs about 600 grams, so tablespoon ropes give closer to 37. Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Calories are calculated from the ingredients at 25 cookies.
FAQs
What is an insulated baking sheet and do I need one?
It is a double layered pan with an air gap, which keeps the bottoms pale instead of browning them. That matters here because these are a pale cookie under a white glaze. If you do not own one, stack two regular sheets together and you get most of the effect.
Can I use vanilla extract instead of the paste?
Extract works at the same measure in both the dough and the glaze, so a tablespoon and a teaspoon. What you lose is the flecks, and those black specks through a pale cookie are half the look. Paste is worth it here if you have it.
Why is there salt in the glaze?
Half a teaspoon against nearly two cups of confectioners sugar sounds like a lot, and it is deliberate. Without it the glaze tastes like nothing but sugar on an already sweet cookie. Use fine salt if that is what you have, and whisk until it dissolves.
Can I shape them a different way?
Ropes also coil into wreaths or bend into S shapes, which is how many Italian families make them. The baking time stays the same as long as the thickness does. For another Italian cookie on the same tray, try this Giada holiday biscotti.
How long do they keep?
Five days in an airtight container at room temperature, which the recipe states and which is good for a glazed cookie. Let the glaze dry fully before you stack them or it sticks. Store them away from crisp cookies like these German cinnamon stars.
