Italian Christmas Cookies
Updated Dec 19, 2025
Try these easy, chewy and festive Italian Christmas Cookies for the holidays - made with anise seeds and topped with colorful sprinkles!
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A Festive Holiday Cookie!
During the holidays, I love keeping my baking simple but festive, and that’s what these Italian Christmas Cookies are all about. They’ve got that light, cake-like texture with a delicious anise flavor and they’re covered with a glossy glaze and colorful sprinkles. The Italian Christmas cookies dough comes together quickly, and shaping and sprinkling them is a fun activities for the family during the holiday season.
Happy Baking!
– Yumna
Italian Christmas Cookie Ingredients
For the cookies
- Dry Ingredients: For these Italian Christmas cookies, you’ll need all-purpose flour (or gluten-free 1:1 flour), baking powder (I always go for aluminum-free), and white granulated sugar.
- Wet Ingredients: This recipe calls for vanilla extract, butter (unsalted is best!) and an egg (use room temperature eggs if you can).
- Seasoning: All you’ll need are anise seeds and a bit of salt to flavor these Italian cookies.
- Glaze: This is a mix of powdered sugar (also called confectioner’s sugar) with whole milk (2% is also fine)
- Sprinkles: I like to look for festive holiday sprinkles, but feel free to get creative with your decorations!
How to Make Italian Christmas Cookies
Italian Christmas Cookies
Try these easy, chewy and festive Italian Christmas Cookies for the holidays – made with anise seeds and topped with colorful sprinkles!
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon anise seeds
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Holiday sprinkles as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and anise seeds. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Mix at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extra and mix until incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients and process at low speed, just until a few streaks of flour remain. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold any visible flour in by hand with a rubber spatula. Using a 1-tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop the batter, then roll into round balls. Place on the prepared pan, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden brown. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
- Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely. While the cookies cool, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with the milk until smooth and glossy.
- Holding the cooled cookies upside down, dip the cookie tops in the glaze. Add desired sprinkles before the glaze sets. Allow cookies to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the glaze hardens and sets.
Notes
My Top Tip: Cool your cookies completely before glazing! It can be tempting to glaze your cookies right away, but if they’re too warm, the glaze can melt and become too thin.
Storing: Once your glaze has set, you can store your Italian Christmas cookies in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They’ll last at room temperature for about 5-7 days, or for about 2 weeks in the fridge.
Freezing: If you’re freezing your dough, shape it into balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. If freezing after baking, wait until the glaze has fully set, then store your cookies in a freezer-friendly container, separating layers with wax or parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. They’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months, and they can be thawed at room temperature when you’re ready to eat.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 55mg, Potassium: 15mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 155IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to use softened butter: Remove the butter from the fridge before you start your cookie-baking process. It will cream better with the sugar (giving you softer, more tender cookies).
- Don’t over-mix your dough: When you add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mix just until there are no streaks of flour left. Over-mixing can lead to tough, dense cookies.
- Bake one sheet pan at a time. If you’re making multiple batches, I recommend only placing one in the oven at a time because you’ll want to make sure they’re baking right in the middle of the oven for that ideal chewy texture.
- Check for the right glaze texture. Your glaze should have the consistency of runny almond butter (slightly runny, but thick enough to set on the cookie). You can add more sugar if it’s too runny, and more milk if it is too thick.
- Cool your cookies completely before glazing: It can be tempting to glaze your cookies right away, but if they’re too warm, the glaze can melt and become too thin.
- Decorate just after glazing: Add your sprinkles or other decorations immediately after glazing each cookie or else the glaze will set and your sprinkles won’t stick!
FAQs
Why did my cookies come out flat?
If your cookies are coming out flat, there are a few possible causes. Your butter may have been too soft or even melted before you incorporated it into the dough. It’s important to start with room temperature butter (it should be soft but still hold its shape). Over-mixing the dough can also lead to flat cookies because it can develop too much gluten, leading to a dense, flat cookie. Lastly, make sure your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder can lose its effectiveness over time, which can lead to cookies that don’t rise properly.
Comments
Just wondering if the anaise seeds break down or do they stay crunchy and whole 🤔. Are they in every bite. Thanks
They actually break down and the taste is super subtle. You will not get a crunchy bite of anise seeds I promise!