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A close up cropped image of Italian chocolate cookies with white stars on them.
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Pan di Stelle (Italian chocolate cookies)

Use the camera icon to toggle the step by step photos on and off. Homemade Pan di Stelle Italian cookies. Made with chocolate and hazelnuts and topped with white star sprinkles. They're perfect for dunking in your morning coffee.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
cooling time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: cookies
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 30 cookies
Author: Emily Wyper

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment (see notes if making by hand)
  • Baking tray (make sure it’ll fit in your fridge)
  • Parchment paper
  • Sieve
  • Plastic wrap (cling film)
  • Rolling pin
  • 2 1/2 inch (6.5cm) Round cutter

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

  • 245 g (1¾ cups) 00 flour (can also use all-purpose flour)
  • 30 g (¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 30 g (¼ cup) finely chopped hazelnuts (see notes)
  • 60 g (½ cup) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar) can also use granulated
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine salt

Wet ingredients

  • 115 g (1 stick) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
  • 30 g (1 oz) dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa) melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 20 g (1 tablespoon) honey (runny not solid)
  • 15 ml (1 tablespoon) whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

Instructions

Prep

  • Measure out all the ingredients and set aside. Melt the dark chocolate in a small pan over a low heat for around 1 minute, until melted. Turn off the heat and set aside.
  • Line a baking tray (one that will fit in your fridge) with parchment paper and set aside.

To make the dough

  • Sift the flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, then add the caster (superfine) sugar, baking powder, salt and chopped hazelnuts. Mix everything for a few seconds until combined.
    Two photos in a collage showing how to sift dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl.
  • With the paddle attachment running on medium speed, add the butter a little at a time. Mix for a few minutes until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.
    Two photos in a collage showing butter being added to form a crumbly texture and wet ingredients added to the mix (egg, melted chocolate and honey).
  • Next, add the honey, melted chocolate, large egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Mix again with the paddle attachment for around 2-3 minutes until the dough comes together. It will look dry at first but will soon come together.
    Two photos in a collage showing a stand mixer bringing together chocolate cookie dough.
  • Bring the dough together and shape it into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it in half (keep the other half wrapped up). Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out your piece of cookie dough to about ¼ inch thick (6- 7 mm).
    Two photos in a collage showing how to roll out and cut out cookies.
  • Use your round cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on the lined baking tray. Bring the dough scraps together and roll it out again to cut out more cookies until your tray is filled.
  • Place some white star sprinkles over the top of each cookie and press them in gently. An optional step is to sprinkle a small pinch of granulated sugar on top too.
    Two photos showing how to press star sprinkles onto cookies and what they look like after baking.
  • Place your tray of cookies in the fridge for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven. Keep any remaining dough wrapped in the fridge until you are ready to roll it out.

Bake

  • Preheat your oven to 180C/350F conventional.
  • Bake the cookies for 15-16 minutes. Let them sit for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. You can bring the scraps together and re-roll as many times as you need to cut out more cookies. You should get around 30 cookies total.

Notes

  • Chopped hazelnuts: If you can’t buy finely chopped hazelnuts, you can weigh the same amount (skins on are fine) and blitz them until finely chopped in a food processor.
  • Dough consistency: If your dough isn’t coming together after around 3-4 minutes of mixing, you can add another ½ to 1 tablespoon of milk.
  • Refrigerating the dough: This stops the dough from spreading too much in the oven, but if it’s too cold, it can tear when you’re rolling it out. If this happens, just bring the dough back together and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, then roll it out again.
  • No stand mixer? You can mix the dough by hand. Add all the dry ingredients to your mixing bowl, then add the softened butter. Use your fingertips to crumble the butter and flour together until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Add the wet ingredients and mix everything with a wooden spoon until combined. Use your hands to bring the dough together and shape it into a flat disc. If the dough isn’t coming together, add another ½ to 1 tablespoon of milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
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