Soft Italian Easter Cookies Recipe
These 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.
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
3 cups powdered sugar (Icing)
2-4 tablespoons whole milk (Icing)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup (Icing)
1 teaspoon almond extract (Icing)
gel food coloring, in purple, pink, blue and yellow
rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamed.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine between each.
4. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Mixture will be pale yellow and slightly separated.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for about 9 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are just slightly golden brown.
10. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool.
11. 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.
12. 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.
Notes
Cookies will keep in an airtight container, on the countertop, for 4-5 days. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Try not to overwork the dough. It is nice and thick and does not need to be refrigerated.
Don’t add a lot of extra flour while forming the shapes – it will make the cookies tough.
I used Americolor gel food coloring in: Lilac, Fuschia, Sky Blue, and Lemon Yellow.
Find it online: https://pinchofwarmthbakes.com/italian-easter-cookies/