Anginetti Cookies (Italian Wedding Cookies)
Updated Dec 11, 2025, Published Dec 11, 2021
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Anginetti Cookies, often called Italian wedding cookies, are soft, lightly sweet Italian cookies finished with a simple glaze and colorful sprinkles. Known for their soft, cake-like texture that melts in your mouth! They’re traditionally served at weddings, showers, and special celebrations, where their delicate flavor and classic look make them easy to love.
For a holiday variation with an anise flavor and festive decorations, see my Lemon Biscotti, Pizzelle Cookies, and Italian Christmas Cookies recipe.
Quick Look at This Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes to mix + 30 minutes to chill
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Servings: 24 cookies
- Dietary Info: Vegetarian
- Method: Baked
- Technique: Chilled dough, glaze after cooling
- Pairing: Italian wedding cookies are the perfect cookies for dipping in an Italian hot chocolate!
- Flavor & Texture: Lightly sweet lemon flavor with a soft, cake-like crumb and smooth glaze
Why you’ll love this family favorite!
These anginetti cookies are made for special occasions, from weddings and celebrations to simple moments shared with family. Soft and tender—somewhere between a cake cookie and a classic crisp cookie—they have that unmistakable Italian feel that’s both comforting and timeless.
Baking a batch brings an authentic taste of Italy right into your home, one cookie at a time. You will also love our lemon ricotta cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies!
Made With Amore,
What are Anginetti Cookies?
Anginetti cookies are traditional Italian cookies known for their soft, cake-like texture, light sweetness, and simple glaze topped with colorful sprinkles. They’re often served at weddings, showers, and special celebrations, which is why they’re commonly called Italian wedding cookies in many Italian-American families.
Anginetti have a mild, gently sweet flavor with a soft, fluffy crumb that’s never crunchy or dry. While the exact flavor can vary depending on the extract or zest used, the texture stays light and cake-like rather than buttery or crisp. In this recipe, the lemon adds a fresh, subtle brightness without overpowering the cookie.
They’re similar (but different) to Mexican wedding cookies, snowball cookies, spritz cookies, and Russian tea cookies.
“Yummy! And so festive! I made them as birthday cookies for a party!”
– TLS
Table of Contents
- Quick Look at This Recipe
- Why you’ll love this family favorite!
- What are Anginetti Cookies?
- Italian Wedding Cookies Ingredients
- Recipe Variations
- How To Make Anginetti Cookies
- Recipe Tips
- Italian Wedding Cookie Recipe FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- More Italian Cookie Recipes
- Italian Wedding Cookies (Anginetti Recipe)
Italian Wedding Cookies Ingredients
No fancy ingredients to make this Italian Cookie recipe.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature so it creams smoothly with the sugar and creates a tender, even crumb. Use extra butter to make a batch of these Italian butter cookies next.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the dough without making it heavy, while powdered sugar is used for the glaze to create a smooth, classic finish.
- Eggs: Eggs provide structure and moisture, helping the cookies bake up soft and light without being dense.
- Baking Powder: This is the key leavening agent and gives anginetti their signature lift. Make sure yours is fresh for the best rise.
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookies enough structure while keeping them tender. Measure carefully to avoid a dry dough.
- Pure Lemon Extract: Adds a clean, bright lemon flavor without adding extra liquid to the dough. If you love lemon in cookies, try my lemon ricotta cookies.
- Sprinkles: Classic nonpareils are traditionally used for decorating and add a festive look once the glaze is set. Try these rainbow cookies as another colorful cookie option!
The full list with measurements is in the printable recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
- Change the Flavor: Traditionally, these cookies were flavored with lemon. But they are often made with anise, almond, or even vanilla extract instead. You can substitute it with any flavoring you prefer. You’ll love my Italian almond cake.
- Change the Look: The traditional way to decorate these is to top them with a pretty white sugar simple glaze and add rainbow nonpareils. You can always change up the sprinkles to match a theme or holiday, just like with the classic Italian struffoli recipe. You could use lemon zest (or other citrus) as a garnish for a different look.
How To Make Anginetti Cookies
To get started, grab all your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer. Add the eggs and lemon extract.
- Beat the mixture until everything is well incorporated.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the butter mixture.
- Mix again on low speed until all the ingredients are incorporated. The dough should be soft and sticky. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
- Measure the dough using a small cookie scoop.
- Drop the cookie dough balls onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned. Remove cookies from the cookie sheets and allow them to cool completely on wire racks.
- Combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and lemon extract in a bowl. Mix until it’s smooth.
- Dip each cookie into the glaze.
- Top with your sprinkles while the icing is still soft. Allow the cookies to dry before stacking for serving or storing.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Chill the Dough for Shape: Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before baking. Chilling helps the cookies hold their characteristic tall, rounded shape. If the dough isn’t chilled, the cookies will spread more and bake up flatter, similar to a traditional drop cookie.
- Cool Completely Before Glazing: Let the cookies cool completely before adding the glaze. Glazing while they’re still warm can cause the icing to melt and slide off instead of setting smoothly.
- Glaze and Decorate Close to Serving: Wait to glaze and add sprinkles until close to serving time. If the cookies sit too long after decorating, the color from the sprinkles can bleed into the glaze.
- Sprinkle After Dipping: After dipping each cookie in the glaze, immediately add sprinkles to ensure they stick properly.
- Storing: Store anginetti cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. For longer storage, freeze the unfrosted cookies for up to 3 months. If freezing, wait to glaze them until after they’ve fully thawed.
Italian Wedding Cookie Recipe FAQs
Yes. You can freeze anginetti cookies either as fully baked or as unbaked dough. For baked cookies, freeze them without the glaze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, then thaw completely before glazing. For dough, roll it into balls, freeze until firm, then store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the baking time, and glaze after the cookies have cooled.
Dry Italian wedding cookies are usually the result of too much flour or overbaking. Measure flour carefully using the spoon and knife method, and remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they’re set, not browned.
The glaze for anginetti cookies typically sets in about 30–60 minutes at room temperature, depending on thickness and humidity. It should be dry to the touch before stacking.
Absolutely. The cookies can be baked 1–2 days in advance and stored at room temperature. Glaze and add sprinkles closer to the event for the best appearance.
Serving Suggestions
Anginetti cookies are a festive addition to holiday gatherings, bridal showers, and baby showers, and they’re a classic sight on dessert tables at many Italian wedding receptions. Their light texture and glazed finish make them easy to serve alongside other traditional Italian sweets.
For a beautiful dessert spread, pair them with Italian donuts for a warm, fried contrast, or add chiacchiere di carnevale for something crisp and delicate. If you’re serving cake as well, anginetti complement simple, elegant options like Italian apple cake or almond sponge cake with Italian Cream.
For a showstopper centerpiece, they also work beautifully alongside classic Italian tiramisu.
More Italian Cookie Recipes
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Italian Wedding Cookies (Anginetti Recipe)
Ingredients
Anginetti Cookies
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons anise extract, or flavor with pure vanilla, orange, almond, or lemon extracts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon almond, vanilla, or lemon extract (or extract of choice)
- Colored Sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper an set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well until incorporated.
- Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt; Mix again on low speed until incorporated.
- The dough should be soft and sticky. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- With a small cookie scoop, drop dough 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheets spacing them about 2-inches apart.
- Bake cookies for about 12 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
- Remove cookies from cookie sheets and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
- For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar, milk and lemon extract and mix until smooth.
- Dip each cookie into the glaze. Top with sprinkles. Tip: dip in glaze and top with sprinkles just before serving. Allow cookies to dry before stacking.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Sprinkle After Dipping: After dipping each cookie in the glaze, immediately add sprinkles to ensure they stick properly.
- Chill for Shape: Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before baking. Chilling helps the cookies keep their tall, rounded shape instead of spreading flat.
- Cool Before Glazing: Let the cookies cool completely before glazing so the icing sets smoothly and doesn’t melt or slide off.
- Decorate Close to Serving: Add the glaze and sprinkles close to serving time. Letting decorated cookies sit too long can cause the sprinkle colors to bleed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yummy! And so festive! I made them as birthday cookies for a party!
Love that you made them for a birthday, so fun! They are super yummy and fun!
An Italian who l๐ves this recipe, with a question. How do I get the correct consistency of glaze to harden. Mine is always sticky๐ฃmaking it difficulty to transport to celebrations. Respectโค๏ธ
I am so happy you love this recipe. The secret to a glaze that is a little more firm is MORE powdered sugar and a touch of cornstarch! That’s my secret. Let me know when you try it.
Thatโs the trick! A pinch of cornstarchโบ๏ธthanks for sharing that secret!
Yes! You are welcome.
I am a novice baker. I made the version with vanilla extract. This was easy with great results. Thank you for sharing this.
Yay! So happy you loved this easy and beautiful recipe!
Delicious cookies! I will make them again. Thank you, Elena!
You are welcome! Happy you loved them!