Traditional Italian Christmas Cookies
Celebrate this holiday season with these melt-in-your-mouth Traditional Italian Christmas Cookies. These soft, cake-like ricotta cookies are topped with rich butter frosting and festive sprinkles. Makes 5-6 dozen depending on the size of scoop.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 15 oz ricotta cheese, full fat
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
For the Frosting
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 3 to 4 TBSP 2% milk
- Colored sprinkles
Equipment
- Cookie scoop
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease baking sheets.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl for about 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add 1 egg at a time, beating well between.
- Beat in the ricotta and extracts.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until just combined.
- Drop a tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie onto the prepared sheets, making sure to leave 2-inches between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 11-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Transfer the baked cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
- Add the frosting ingredients to a large bowl to cream together, adding just enough milk to achieve a spreadable consistency. Adjust as needed.
- Frost the cooled cookies and decorate them immediately with the sprinkles to serve or store. TIP: If you wait too long to add sprinkles, the frosting will harden. If this happens, press the sprinkles down with your fingers into the frosting.
Notes
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Keep leftover Italian Christmas cookies with frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Unfrosted ricotta cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: For longer storage, freeze the cooled cookies (without the frosting) in a single layer before transferring to a freezer-safe bag or container - they’ll last for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature and then frost and decorate with sprinkles before serving again.
- Use Full Fat Ricotta for this recipe.
- Extracts: Optional to omit the almond extract and just use vanilla instead, if you prefer.
- Holiday-inspired ricotta cookies: Adjust the color of sprinkles to match a specific holiday you want to celebrate, such as Valentine’s day (pink, red, and white), St Patrick’s day (green, yellow and gold), Easter and baby showers (pastels), 4th of July (red, blue, and white), or Halloween (orange, black, purple, and green).
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 94kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 91mg, Potassium: 15mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 131IU, Vitamin C: 0.002mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.4mg