Italian Wedding Cookies (Anginetti Recipe)
These classic anginetti cookies, also known as Italian wedding cookies, are soft, lightly sweet, and finished with a simple glaze and colorful sprinkles. This lemon-flavored version bakes up tender and cake-like, making it perfect for weddings, showers, and special celebrations.
Servings: 24 servings
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
Calories: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
