A delicious frosted Italian cookie passed down to me from my grandmother.
i have searched so long for these cookies. my motherinlaw died about 5 years ago and never got the recipe. it broke my daughers heart. yesterday i told her jeannine i think i found a recipe for nanas cookies and we both made them. as we were making them she said a prayer to her nana and said please nana help us with this. well when the cookies were done and we tasted them they tasted exactly like her cookies. my daugher started to cry and said mom i am so happy we found them. i have to thank u so much for this dream come true. my husband also said my god they taste just like moms cookies. i have to say thank you thank you for helping us with this. love jeannine and mary ellen
Read MoreThis recipe was just okay for me. The next time I make it I'm going to try adding chocolate chips like Sonia did to add a bit more flavor to the cookie. I like the glaze, but it might be helpful to know that if you are going to sprinkle with colored sugars, do it one cookie at a time immediately after you dip them or the glaze may harden too much.
Read Morei have searched so long for these cookies. my motherinlaw died about 5 years ago and never got the recipe. it broke my daughers heart. yesterday i told her jeannine i think i found a recipe for nanas cookies and we both made them. as we were making them she said a prayer to her nana and said please nana help us with this. well when the cookies were done and we tasted them they tasted exactly like her cookies. my daugher started to cry and said mom i am so happy we found them. i have to thank u so much for this dream come true. my husband also said my god they taste just like moms cookies. i have to say thank you thank you for helping us with this. love jeannine and mary ellen
Was looking for a recipe like my husband's grandmother, and this was it!!! These are excellent and so easy to make...thank you for sharing! The only extra we do is to add a little anise extract to the icing, it makes them just perfect!
I rarely give any recipe 5 stars because I'm always trying to please 3 other picky family members, however my family LOVED these cookies. My son practically at a dozen by himself before I could get them to a cookie tray for Christmas eve. I sprinkled with red sugars. Will definately have these on my cookie trays from now on!
These were good. They were light and not too sweet. I added orange zest in the cookie batter as well(I just love orange zest!).
Excellent recipe --my italian boyfriend and his family devoured them. They are light and soft. I added 1 tsp almond extract, (next time I'll add 2 since I liked the flavor). I made them into knots and added colored sprinkles after dipping them in the glaze/frosting. Thanks for the recipe!!
I had searched high and low....asking every Italian friend I knew and no luck until I found Kathy's recipe...I can now stop looking. My spouse is a happy cookie monster. Thanks Kathy.
This recipe was just okay for me. The next time I make it I'm going to try adding chocolate chips like Sonia did to add a bit more flavor to the cookie. I like the glaze, but it might be helpful to know that if you are going to sprinkle with colored sugars, do it one cookie at a time immediately after you dip them or the glaze may harden too much.
These ARE the best! They are a staple on our Christmas table every year. My Aunt passed this down from her family in Italy to me.
Great cookies. I also used orange rind, and only used 2 cups of icing sugar for the glaze. My grandma made something similar but rolled the dough to a longer length before forming the circles. As with most Italian cookies be prepared to spend some time in the kitchen!
Outstanding. They pass the test for this Italian and her kids! Added some mini chocolate chips to have of the dough and made them as little balls. Delicious and easy to ice. Will add them to my Christmas baking list for sure!
this reminds me of our ital. family recipe for easter cookies we make some like this and some with anise extact we color the glaze w/food coloring this is the thing that brings back memories for me thank you love it
Everyone loved these and they stayed moist for a long time thanks to the delicious glaze. I added grand marnier to the glaze for a little adult kick.
I have a similar recipe that uses anise instead. I even put a little anise in the frosting. I do not use ornage juice. You can use vanilla instead of anise if you like. Time consuming to make ane sticky too, but well worth it. My family looks forward to them.
These were excellent after a big meal. They reminded me a little of shortbread. They were only slightly sweet with a touch of citrus. I made them to specifications except I made a lot less glaze.
werent bad but i couldnt taste any orange even with adding extra otherwise a really good cookie
I don't know if I did something wrong, I followed the recipe exactly. All the other reviews were so good, I had high expectations. I wondered if the tablespoon of baking powder should have been a teaspoon. They tasted like flour, and were hard and dry like hockey pucks!
Ms.Kathy: Thank you! I was looking for one close to my grandma's recipe! Thanks! I truly appreciate it! My sister came for Easter, and since she likes chocolate chips; I added chopped choc. chips; and she enjoyed them! Thannks Kathy!
Very Good.....just like my grandmothers! The only difference was she added a little anise to the icing and cooking mix. Very easy recipe to make. Will definetly make again...thank you!
My Polish mother got a cookie recipe from her Italian girlfriends that she made at Christmastime. She and many immigrant women worked in a sweatshop sewing all day speaking in broken English and hardly understanding each other. Good food shared and recipes swapped bonded them. Along with her many delicious Polish foods and treats, she made these. I loved these cookies, but never got the recipe. She would twist her shapes into knots, pretzel or spirals. Like people on this site, I searched for years, but other recipes did not have the familiar taste nor the consistency. Thank you Kathy for this gem of a recipe that makes my mouth --and eyes-- water. I am hoping my grandchildren will also enjoy these and I will make sure the recipe is not lost to our family again!
this dough was so sticky, it was almost impossible to work with. not worth it in my opinion. the cookies tasted OK.
This is the recipe I have been looking for! My neighbor makes this cookie and wouldn't share her recipe..family recipe she said. This recipe is better than hers! I substituted almond flavoring for the vanilla and orange juice and then used almond flavoring in the glaze, made different colors of the glaze. Thanks for sharing!
I have made this several times. It is my favorite cookie recipe. I add a few drops of anise when making the frosting. Love it!
These were excellent. Very moist and rich. I didn't have any orange juice on hand so I did without (I used milk to make glaze). I had a similar recipe years ago (that called for anise extract) and was happy to find this one! Since I didn't have any anise extract on hand, my daughter suggested using pepperment extract and they came out delicious! Thank you for the great recipe.
Great cookie overall.
Overall a very good cookie. The dough was easy to work with, and I really like this recipe as it is. I later had some fun with the recipe and put orange food coloring in the dough before baking, and shaped them into pretzels instead of rings. After glazing them, I sprinkled sugar crystals on top ( mock "salted pretzles"). Thank you for sharing your recipe :)
This recipe is very close to my Sicilian grandmothers recipe in texture. Great coffee cookie! She added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg and shortening instead of butter.
Did not taste like my moms Italian cookies. I found her recipe and I will make it . this was not very good at all.
So, these may be flaws on my part, but these were the problems I had. The dough was incredibly sticky and I had to add a ton of flour to actually be able to knead it. The instructions on how to make them into rings was a bit unclear, but that's more of my fault, since this is my first time baking solo. The amount of baking powder made a huge difference. I forgot about the reviews saying to add less until I actually put the baking powder in. With a whole tablespoon, the cookies ended up being more like a biscuit than an actual cookie. It made the taste very faintly doughy but was overall still very good. :D I was confused on how it said to put the warm cookies in the icing, but did as told, and it actually turned out fine. The icing is meant to melt into the cookie I guess. ouo The icing is also very sweet, which is complimentary to the average taste of the cookie, but if you don't like sweet things, you might want to add less icing to be safe. Adding some vanilla might also be interesting c:
Followed it exactly as written and the cookies are fabulous. They will be a new must-have Christmas cookie at my house.
Try adding lemon chips to batter. Lemon juice & 1 Tablespoon lemon zest to icing works great also. Lemon zest = grating lemon - only very outside yellow area [- stop at white layer], when grating.
This is a wonderful recipe! The one that I have makes 10 dozen and while I love it - I don’t always need that many this made 4 dozen - enough to share but not an all day affair.
Iv'e been making these for years!! My grandmother used to make them , and now I do.. though I just call them grandmas cookies...they are delicious... and make them in tribute to her every year!!
We love these cookies, and the only thing keeping them from five stars is that they do not keep well, and there should be a warning NOT to keep them in an airtight container or they will get soggy and weep a bit if you use glaze like I do. They are delicious and freeze well WITHOUT icing, which you can add after defrosting. They add a festive look to your cookie platter and taste good, too!
good flavor and texture, but oven too hot at 350 for that time, burnt bottoms. Did a second batch at a cooler oven and they came out great! I suggest also doing a lemon or lime gaze for a different taste!
