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Make your holidays a little sweeter this year with these Italian-inspired Christmas Day cookies. Enjoy seasonal twists on classic biscotti, traditional and simply beautiful pizzelles, espresso-flavored chocolate chip cookies, nutty amaretti cookies, and more. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in this collection of our best Italian Christmas cookies.
Ricotta Cookies
These light and fluffy cookies with subtle lemony icing are truly heavenly. They’re great to serve year-round, but red and green sprinkles make them festive enough for any holiday party.
Gingerbread Biscotti
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Can you just imagine dipping this warm, spicy cookie into a hot cup of coffee? Better yet, hot cocoa? This seasonal treat will quickly become a Christmas tradition.
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Rob Tanner
We love how the red cranberries and green pistachios give these cookies a festive touch, but you could substitute whatever nuts you have on hand.
Pizzelle
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
This ancient waffle cookie is truly a showstopper, but it’s easier to make these intricate designs than you might think. All you need is a pizzelle press to make cookies just like nonna!
Amaretti
Though it looks quite different than today’s coconut cookies, traditional Italian amaretti cookies (which are deliciously nutty, thanks to the almonds) are actually an ancestor to macaroons.
Italian Fig Cookies
Kim
These traditional Italian fig cookies are a labor of love, but we promise, they’re worth it. They freeze really well, so this recipe is a great make-ahead option.
Anise Pizzelles
“Finally, a recipe for pizzelles that calls for anise oil! I had one long ago, but lost the recipe,” says Allrecipes member Chris Lidberg. “Thank you so much for posting it. The anise oil gives a more intense flavor of anise to the cookie much better than anise extract, which is more commonly found! Love it.”
Cantuccini
Cantucci, a form of biscotti, is a crunchy almond cookie that is almost impossible to stop eating. For the full experience, serve it with hot coffee.
Cardamom and Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Italian espresso gives the classic chocolate chip cookie a welcome coffee-flavored kick. For extra coffee flavor, try substituting espresso morsels for chocolate chips to give it an extra Italian boost.
Italian Butterball Cookies
Similar to Italian wedding cookies, these smooth, fluffy, and powdered sugar-covered treats are perfect for any celebration.
Mom’s Nut Horns
“Delicious! I made them a little smaller and rolled them in granulated sugar after I removed them from the oven,” says reviewer Christina. “These are gonna be a new cookie tradition in our family—Everyone LOVED them. Yum!”
Pignoli Cookies
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Here’s a five-ingredient Italian cookie that everyone will love. This is an especially nutty recipe (it has almond paste and pine nuts). So make sure your guests don’t have any allergies before serving.
Italian Almond Cookies
“Without a doubt the BEST chewy almond cookie I’ve found,” reviewer Dutchmommy raves. “My daughter and I thought we had tasted the best one in Europe on a recent trip but these are even better!”
Sinful Chocolate Biscotti
This brownie-like biscotti recipe is so good, you’ll be racing for a second. Drizzle with more chocolate and top with red and green sprinkles for an extra festive touch.
Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)
ALLRECIPES / VICTORIA JEMPTY
“Cuccidati are Italian cookies with a sticky fig filling—think fancy, gourmet version of a fig Newton! They are traditionally served at Christmas time in Italy, and I finally nailed an old family recipe,” says Allrecipes’ Nicole McLaughlin. “The fig and date filling is wrapped in a soft, sweet dough, then baked and dipped in festive frosting decorated with sprinkles. These are perfect for gifting!”
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