For a week straight every December, our entire home would be filled with the smell of sugar, butter, star anise, almond and vanilla, when my Nonna's little ‘cucina' (kitchen) turned into a cookie factory. From savoardi (lady fingers) to amaretti, biscotti, pizzelle (orparrozzo), Pignoli cookies (with pine nuts), ciambelline al vino (donuts made with wine), and Walnut Cuppette. And my all-time favorite holiday heirloom, my Nonna's recipe for Italian Ricotta "Sprinkle" Cookies.
These cookies are especially nostalgic to me because they remind me so much of my childhood and my Nonna. A classic Italian cookie that goes back generations and generations. My Nonna’s cookies are soft, buttery, fluffy pillows flavored with a hint of vanilla and orange zest, topped with a sweet glaze and colorful rainbow sprinkles. They’re my favorite – not only because of their deliciously light texture and sweet taste – but also because of the heartwarming mental journey they take me on. Every year, my family gets together to bake our traditional Christmas cookies, and I am reminded of when I was a little girl, kneeling on the chair in my Nonna's kitchen, covered head-to-toe in flour and powdered sugar. Every holiday season, trays and trays of homemade cookies would fill our kitchen, dining room table and countertops. My Nonna had an assembly line set up where she would pile on a few cookies from each tray and arrange them beautifully onto a sturdy paper plate, lined with a special doily. Then she would decorate each plate with a couple of foil-wrapped chocolate Baci, a few traditional Confetti, and Jordan almonds. Lastly, she would wrap each plate up in clear cellophane and tie each one with a red and green ribbon. She would give them out at Christmas to all our neighbors, family, friends; to my mom and dad's most loyal customers; and even to all the teachers and staff at my elementary school. I always made sure that when my Nonna was putting together the cookie plates she planned on gifting that she would add more Amaretti and Pignoli cookies – so that there would be more of the Ricotta “Sprinkle” Cookies left for me to eat!
All of our traditional Italian cookie recipes are a family treasure, and even though she passed away six years ago, we still keep her holiday tradition alive. Except now, my mom is the head baker and I've graduated on to more elaborate baking duties, like zesting the orange, whisking the ingredients together with the electric hand mixer and rolling out the cookie dough. Every year, right before Christmas, we put on our coziest pajamas, and Mrs. Claus and her little elves all get to work, baking and reminiscing about our favorite Christmas memories. We even let the littlest helper, my five year old niece Mila (who is now the one covered head-to-toe in flour and powdered sugar) crack the eggs into the bowl. The best part of it all is that I still get to glaze and sprinkle the top of the Italian ricotta cookies – just like my Nonna would always let me. The magic is still there!
Tips on Nonna's Italian Ricotta "Sprinkle" Cookies
If you're not a big fan of star anise (like myself), this recipe calls for vanilla extract and a citrus zest in both the cookie dough and the glaze, giving them a more subtle refreshing flavor. You can even swap out the vanilla and orange or lemon zest for almond or coconut extract. The options are really endless! These cookies are actually very simple and straightforward to make, which is great during a busy holiday season. The dough comes together quickly and they bake within minutes. You can easily double this recipe, making quite a big batch – which is perfect for gift-giving, and you’ll still end up with enough to eat! You'll want to make a large amount, anyway, because I haven't met anyone who doesn't simply love these cookies. For this reason, you might have to hide them away until Christmas Day, too – so no one snags a few before you make your holiday cookie tray. In fact, my Nonna used to fill plastic bags with her cookies and freeze them – because they were like currency, and this way, they would get us through the holidays and well into the New Year. They are the perfect holiday treat and make for a festive dessert platter. While they’re often popular at Christmas, these cookies are also great for any time of the year. You can swap out the sprinkles for any festive topping mix you like.
To reach that soft, pillowy texture, we use whole-milk Italian ricotta cheese, which gives a light subtle flavor and texture to the dough, making the cookies moist and soft. Both the baking soda and baking powder are used to leaven the cookies, and also keeping them softer for longer. The orange zest is a must to add for a slightly pungent, sweet taste. See the complete recipe below.
Merry “Cookie” Christmas!
My Nonna's Italian Ricotta "sprinkle" Cookies by Daniela Savone
Ingredients:
For the cookie dough
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
15 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the glaze
½ cup melted butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Method:
Preheat the oven to 325°F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed. Before mixing the butter into the sugar, make sure it has softened to room temperature, which will allow the cookies to rise properly for a more airy dough.
Add the eggs one at a time on high speed, as a binder for the cookies, incorporating them evenly into the ingredients.
Add the ricotta cheese to the egg, butter and sugar mixture, continuing to whisk with the hand mixer.
Add in the vanilla extract and orange zest with the mixer on high speed until combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients; first the flour, then the baking powder gently mixed in with a spoon, followed by the baking soda and salt.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time, whisking on high speed. Be careful not to overmix the dough, or you could end up with tough cookies. Once the dough starts to come together, remove it from the bowl and knead it for a couple of minutes with your hands until a big ball of smooth cookie dough starts to form. (If the dough is too sticky, you may need to add a little bit more flour.)
Scoop out no more than a tablespoon of dough and roll it between the palms of your hands, making a small smooth ball (the size of a gum ball). Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet, set apart with spaces of an inch or so between each one. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Glazing:
Mix all the glaze ingredients together in a bowl, creating a thick, gooey-like consistency. (If the glaze is too watery, add more powdered sugar.)
When glazing the cookies, dip them one at a time into a bowl of the glaze. You can drizzle or brush the glaze on top as well, but dipping gives you a more uniform coating and it's a much faster technique. Allow the cookies to cool once baked before glazing and sprinkling them, so the glaze doesn't melt off and the sprinkles don't bleed together. Once the cookies are glazed and sprinkled, line the cookies up spaced out on a cookie sheet so they don’t stick together. Leave the tray of cookies out for a few hours to set, so the glaze will dry completely.