Description
Italian Knot Cookies, Anginetti, Tarallucci or however they’re referred to in your household, make a wonderful addition to your Easter table.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp kosher salt (~½ tsp fine salt)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp anisette liqueur
- Zest of 1 lemon
Topping:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 6–8 tbsp anisette liquor (such as Sambuca)
- Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles or sprinkles of choice
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk until well-mixed.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and one egg. Add 2nd and 3rd eggs, whisking well between each addition. Slowly pour in melted butter while whisking, until well-combined. Stir in liqueur and lemon zest.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 2-3 additions, stirring to combine. Do not overmix. Cover and chill dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours, until firm enough to work with. Alternatively, chill overnight and allow to soften slightly on the counter before shaping.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove dough from fridge. Divide into three equal pieces.
- Lightly flour your work surface. Shape ⅓ of dough into a 10-inch log. Cut into ten equal 1-inch pieces. Roll one of the pieces between the palms of your hands into a 6-inch long rope. Shape into a knot as shown above. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
- Place dough knots onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat, spaced 2 inches apart. Refrigerate the tray for 10-15 minutes before baking to help cookies better maintain their shape.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven, rotating pan after 8 minutes. Continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until golden on top and browned on the bottom. Cook in batches, as needed.
- Allow cookies to cool slightly on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once fully cooled, prepare the glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk and 6 tbsp of liqueur. Add an additional 1-2 tbsp of liqueur, as needed, until you reach desired glaze consistency.
- Dip the top half of each cookie into the bowl of glaze, allowing excess to drip off. Place back on wire rack. Top glazed cookies with sprinkles. Allow glaze to set before storing. Enjoy.
Notes
If you taste a cookie when it is freshly glazed, the alcohol flavor will be much stronger. As the glaze hardens, the flavor will become more mellow.
To store, keep in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 270
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 96mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 54mg