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A close up of Italian butter cookies on a plate. In the centre is a round cookie with a candied cherry on top.
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Italian Butter Cookies

The most delicious, soft and buttery Italian Butter Cookies made with an Italian cookie dough called Pasta Frolla Montata. These cookies are super easy to make and can be made into many different shapes and sizes and decorated with candied fruit, melted chocolate and chopped nuts.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Chilling time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 30 cookies (depending on size)
Calories: 163kcal
Author: Emily Wyper

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments or electric hand whisk
  • Two large baking trays
  • Baking parchment
  • Piping bag with a large star nozzle

Ingredients

  • 500 g Italian 00 flour or all-purpose flour 3 and ¾ cups
  • 200 g powdered sugar 1 and ⅓ cup
  • 300 g unsalted butter softened at room temperature (10.5 oz)
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • Zest of 2 oranges
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch fine salt

Decoration options

  • Candied cherries
  • Whole nuts such as almonds or hazelnuts
  • Chopped nuts such as hazelnuts or pistachios
  • Melted chocolate dark, milk or white
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

  • Line two large baking trays with baking parchment.
  • Using a stand mixer or electric hand whisk, whisk the butter and powdered sugar on a medium speed for around 5 minutes until thick, light and fluffy.
  • Add the vanilla and orange zest then with the stand mixer on medium-low add one egg at a time letting it fully incorporate into the batter before adding the other
  • Sift in the flour, use a paddle attachment or continue with an electric hand whisk to combine the flour until fully absorbed.
  • Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle with the cookie dough (it should be quite soft). Pipe different shaped cookies on the baking trays making sure they are at least 1cm/1/2inch apart. You can pipe circles, U or S shapes, straight cookies, hearts etc (see photos for ideas).
  • If adding candied cherries or whole nuts to the cookies do so now. Place the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Bake the cookies one tray at a time on the middle shelf of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To decorate

  • Melt your chocolate of choice, dark, milk or white in a bain-marie (heatproof bowl above a pot of hot water).
  • Drip the ends of the cookies in the chocolate or drizzle some over them. Top with chopped nuts or sprinkles and let set on some baking parchment.

Video

Notes

    1. Weigh your ingredients - as with all recipes that use flour, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients instead of using cups. Flour is notoriously difficult to measure accurately using cups and can drastically affect the end result. A kitchen scale will give you accurate measurements every time (and perfect cookies).
    2. Use a large piping bag - I recommend using a large piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle since you'll be working with a large amount of cookie dough.
    3. Star-shaped nozzle - this is what we used to create the beautifully shaped Italian butter cookies you can see in the photos but you can experiment with different shapes and sizes.
    4. Storage - The cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 1 week or more. Alternatively, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
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Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 266IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg