Meet Italian Wedding Cookies, aka Italian Butter Cookies or Biscotti di Nozze, your new melt-in-your-mouth favorite cookie. These buttery, crumbly cookies are a staple at Italian weddings and celebrations, but you don't have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy them.

Italian wedding cookie stacked with a bite missing

Why You'll Love Them

Timeless Taste: Their delicate, sweet flavor pairs perfectly with tea or coffee, making for an ideal snack anytime.
Easy to Make: With just a handful of ingredients and some simple steps, these cookies can be prepared with minimal fuss.
Versatile for Any Occasion: Not just for weddings, these cookies are perfect for holidays, celebrations, or even as a daily treat.
Customizable: You can easily adapt the recipe to include nuts, chocolate chips, or citrus zest for a personalized touch.
Long Shelf Life: Stored properly, these cookies can last for weeks, ensuring you always have a sweet treat on hand.

Ingredients

Cookies:

Salted butter
Powdered sugar
Eggs
All-purpose flour
Almond flour
Baking powder
Cornstarch

Glaze:

Powdered sugar
Almond extract
Milk
Non-pareils

How to Make Italian Wedding Cookies

Preheat the oven and prep the baking pans

Make the Dough: Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and creamy using a hand or stand mixer. Add eggs and beat to combine; expect a lumpy mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and cornstarch. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a dough forms.

Make the Cookies: Scoop out dough with a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop. Divide each scoop in half. Roll each piece into a ball. Place balls on baking sheets, leaving 1 inch of space between them. Bake at the preheated temperature for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden and tops are dry and slightly cracked. Allow the cookies to cool completely before glazing.

Glazing the Cookies: Mix powdered sugar, almond extract, and 3 tbsp milk for glaze. Add the remaining milk to get the right thickness. Dip cookies in glaze and place on a rack. Add sprinkles (optional). Let dry before serving.

Tips and Tricks for Making Italian Butter Cookies

Room temperature ingredients: Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temp before you start the recipe. It is the key to getting everything to blend together seamlessly.

Don’t overbeat: Once you’ve added the flours, don’t go too hard on the dough or you’ll end up with chewy cookies that are tough to bite into. They’ll still be on the dry side, but you want them soft and crumbly, not hard.

Don’t overbake: The cookies won't turn golden brown on top when they're done baking. Look for them to be just a bit golden around the edges and dry and cracked on the top. Make sure not to overbake them or they'll end up hard. Pull them out as soon as those edges start to turn golden.

Glazing: I like to dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze and give them a light swirl as I pull them out. However, you can also pour the glaze over the top of the cookies instead. You may want to make a little extra for the top if you pour the glaze.

Substitutions

Salted butter: Substitute unsalted butter and ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon of salt instead.

Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar blends in smoothly, however, if necessary, you can replace it with ¾ cup of granulated white sugar to get similar results.

All-purpose flour: You can substitute all almond flour if needed, though it may affect the texture and flavor slightly.

Almond flour: You can substitute all-purpose flour and a teaspoon of almond extract if needed for similar results. The texture may be slightly changed.

Almond extract: Substitute vanilla extract if needed.

Milk: Heavy cream or half and half can also be used, though they will make the glaze thicker so you may need to add a little extra to get it dippable.

Variations to Classic Italian Wedding Cookies

Revamping the classic Italian Wedding Cookies with creative twists can transform them into a unique experience.

Here are a few popular variations:

Chocolate Chip: Fold in a cup of mini chocolate chips to the dough before baking.
Lemon Zest: Grate the zest of one lemon into your dough for citrus notes that pair well with the sweet glaze.
Nuts: Mix in finely chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans to add a crunchy texture and rich flavor.

More Cookie Recipes

Italian Wedding Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened and sliced
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 ½ cup almond flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 Tablespoons milk, divided
Non-pareils, optional garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two large baking pans with parchment paper or spray lightly with baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy with a hand or stand mixer.
Add in the eggs and beat to combine. The mixture will be lumpy and not fully combined.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and cornstarch until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until dough forms.
Using a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out dough and split it in half. Roll each half into a ball and place on the baking sheets with a 1 inch space between them.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the tops are dry and slightly cracked.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before glazing.
To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, almond extract and 3 Tablespoons of milk until smooth.
Slowly mix in the last Tablespoon of milk until you reach your desired consistency. You may not want to use the whole amount or you may want to add an extra teaspoon to get the right consistency. It should be thick but still dippable.
Dip each cookie top in the glaze and then remove from the glaze and place on a drying rack.
Sprinkle on the non pareils, optional and allow to dry before serving.

Nutrition Information

Yield 24 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 159Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 24mgSodium 53mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 1gSugar 20gProtein 3g

This nutritional information is for reference only. We are not responsible for these calculations.