Italian Easter Cookies

Topped with colorful almond icing and pastel nonpareil sprinkles, these soft Italian Easter cookies make a cheerful treat. They’re perfect for family gatherings and springtime celebrations, or arranging on a tray with other Easter favorites.

What are Italian Easter Cookies?

The roots of the Italian Easter cookie trace back to southern Italy, where families prepared traditional dishes to mark the end of Lent. Each region and family developed its own version, passing recipes down through generations and baking them annually, along with other traditional baked goods like Colomba pasquale and pastiera Napoletana. These days, you’ll also find these seasonal sweets at Italian-American bakeries, including my personal favorite—Veniero’s in NYC.

Lightly sweet with a soft, cakelike texture, Italian Easter cookies feature a simple dough (usually flavored with vanilla, anise, almond, or citrus zest) that is scooped into mounds and baked, then cooled and dipped or drizzled in a sweet glaze. I like to sprinkle my freshly iced cookies with plenty of pastel nonpareils for a pretty finishing touch.

These Italian Easter cookies will keep well for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container, so they’re ideal for sharing with guests or including on an Easter dessert platter alongside other colorful treats like buttercream Easter eggs, mini egg chocolate bark, or white chocolate Easter blondies.

Italian Easter Cookie Recipe Ingredients

To make Italian Easter cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour – All-purpose flour (or plain flour, in the UK) creates the base for the cookie dough.
• Baking Powder – Two teaspoons of baking powder create the signature soft, cakelike texture and puffy appearance.
• Kosher Salt – A small amount of kosher salt (or fine sea salt) cuts the sweetness of the sugars.
• Unsalted Butter – Opt for unsalted butter, softened so it blends smoothly with the other ingredients. Omit the kosher salt if using salted butter.
• Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar adds sweetness and texture. You can substitute caster sugar, measured by weight rather than volume.
• Eggs – Whole eggs add structure and, along with baking powder, help the cookie dough to rise.

• Almond Extract – I flavored my cookie dough and icing with almond extract. (I prefer the Nielsen-Massey brand.) If you do not like the taste of almond, you can replace it with vanilla extract
• Vanilla Extract – I prefer Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract, but any good-quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will work. Avoid cheap imitation vanilla flavorings.
• Milk – You’ll need whole milk to adjust the consistency of the icing. Your favorite plant milk will also work.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar, powdered sugar) creates the sweet icing. 
• Gel Food Coloring – I tinted my icing with Chefmaster Neon Brites gel food coloring in pink, green, blue, and yellow. You can use any colors you’d like, or skip the food coloring if you prefer a more natural look.
• Sprinkles – I like to decorate my Italian Easter cookies (and other Easter treats, like my mini Egg bark and buttercream eggs) with pastel nonpareils. You can also top your cookies with homemade sprinkles, rainbow nonpareils, pink and white nonpareils, cute Easter sprinkles, or even a dusting of edible glitter.

Dipping and Decorating Italian Easter Cookies

To decorate the cooled cookies, start by lining a large tray with parchment, wax paper, or plastic wrap. Sit a wire cooling rack over the top. (I use a set like this one, with a rack designed to nest inside the tray.)

Make the icing by whisking together confectioner’s sugar, whole milk, and almond extract. If necessary, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar or milk to adjust the consistency. The icing should be thin enough for dipping (not thick, “frosting” consistency), but not runny, either.

Next, divide the icing into bowls. (You’ll need one bowl for each color icing you plan to make.) Then, tint each portion with a few drops of gel food coloring. I used Chefmaster’s Neon Brites collection to make pink, green, yellow, and blue icing.

Then, working one at a time, turn the cookie upside-down so the flat side is facing you. Dip the round side in the icing.

After dipping each cookie, sit it flat-side down on the wire rack. The parchment-lined tray underneath will catch the drips. 

Sprinkle the cookies with pastel nonpareils, rainbow nonpareils, homemade sprinkles, or your favorite Easter sprinkles.

For step-by-step instructions and process photos, scroll down to the recipe card below.

Italian Easter Cookie Recipe Tips and Tricks

Use room temperature ingredients. For best results, start with softened butter and room temperature eggs.

Chill the dough. After scooping the dough into balls, refrigerate the tray for at least 1 hour before baking. This prevents the cookies from over-spreading as they bake.

Keep a cookie scoop handy. A cookie scoop with a release (similar to a miniature ice cream scoop) makes it easy to create evenly sized portions of dough.

Don’t overmix or overbake. Overmixing the dough can make the cookies dense and tough by overdeveloping the gluten, while overbaking can make the cookies too crunchy—these are meant to be pillowy-soft!

Allow the icing to set. To prevent damaging the decorative topping, allow the icing to set thoroughly before transferring the cookies to an airtight container for storage.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Layer iced cookies between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

Unfrosted cookies can also be layered between sheets of parchment and frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Decorate prior to serving.

Other Easter recipes you might enjoy:

Buttercream Easter Eggs
Peanut Butter Easter Eggs
Easter Egg Brownies
Meringue Wreaths
Easter Pretzel Treats
Mini Egg Chocolate Bark
Bird’s Nest Rice Krispie Treats

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

 

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