Italian Love Knot Cookies! These tender, cakey cookies are also known as unicetti, taralli dolci, anginetti or simply Italian Easter cookies. A fun treat to make and eat!
Note: This recipe was originally posted on June 29, 2011 and was updated on April 11, 2012.
What are Italian Love Knot Cookies or Italian Easter Cookies?
Italian Love Knot Cookies are also known as Italian Easter Cookies since they're a cookie that is often made for special occasions such as holidays, weddings and other celebrations. They are made from a mildly sweet, tender dough that is more soft and cakey than cookie-like, and glazed with a flavored icing before being decorated with colorful nonpareils or sprinkles.
Ingredients for Italian Love Knot Cookies
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- fresh lemon juice
- lemon zest {optional}
- confectioners’ sugar
- milk
- almond, lemon, or anise extract
- nonpareils or sprinkles
Tips for Making These Cookies
The dough for these cookies comes together very quickly, but will need to be refrigerated for about an hour to make it easier to handle and shape. That being said, here are a few tips to make sure your cookies turn out perfectly:
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all the butter and egg is well-blended before adding the flour mixture.
- Don't over-mix or over-handle the dough. Too much mixing or handling will make the cookies tough instead of light and tender.
- The bake time for these cookies should be between 12-15 minutes, but every oven is different. I like to check my cookies a few minutes early to make sure they're not browning too much. The tops should look dull and they should be puffed and slightly golden on top and around the edges. The bottoms should be golden brown but not too dark.
- Cool the cookies before icing. Icing the cookies before cooling completely can make the glaze extra runny, and most of it will drip off.
- Make sure to add the nonpareils and sprinkles while the icing is still slightly wet, otherwise they won't stick!
How Do You Shape Italian Knot Cookies?
The shape of Italian Love Knots or Italian Easter Cookies may look a bit intimidating to try, but it's actually relatively easy to master with some practice!
First, you'll want to lightly flour the surface on which you'll be shaping the cookies as well as your hands as the dough can be sticky.Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure to scoop out the dough to ensure that each dough ball is equal in size. Roll the dough into a smooth ball between your hands, then place the ball on the floured surface and roll it into a rope about 7 inches in length.
Here's the part where it becomes a "knot": Take one end of the rope in each hand and bring them up into a "U" shape. Cross one side over the other forming a hole or loop in the center. Carefully tuck on end of the rope through the loop to create a "knot" -- just as you would knot a ribbon or string.
That's it! It may take a few practice rounds to get it to look right, but eventually you'll get the hang of it {and have a few laughs in the process}. This is a very fun task for little ones to help with!
If you've given up on your cookie-knotting skills altogether, you can also shape these into rods, twists and rings {like little donuts!}. No matter how you choose to shape them, they'll still be delicious!
Recipe Variations
Traditionally, Italian Easter Cookies are made with anisette flavor, which tastes like fennel or licorice. However, these cookies can also be made with lemon zest or extract, orange zest or extract, almond extract or vanilla extract if anise isn't your cup of tea. {Many find it to be an acquired flavor.}
I like to keep the dough neutral with a vanilla extract flavor and add different extracts to the icing in order to flavor them, but you can also add lemon zest or orange zest to the dough itself if you would like the cookie to be flavored.
Italian Love Knot Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Baking Pans
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest optional
For Icing
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2½ tablespoons milk or water
- ¼ teaspoon desired extract, such as almond, lemon, anise or vanilla
- nonpareils or sprinkles
Instructions
Make Cookie Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. After all the eggs have been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and beat the mixture once more to ensure everything is well-combined.
- Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Add lemon zest if making lemon-flavored cookies. {Omit if you don't want them to taste like lemon.}
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until everything is just combined. Do not overmix. You will have a soft, sticky dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking pan by lining with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Shape the Cookies
- When the dough is fully chilled, prepare your work station by lightly flouring to prevent the dough from sticking. Lightly flour your hands.
- Scoop out a ball of dough with a medium cookie scoop and roll it until it's smooth. {It should be a bit smaller than a golf ball.} Roll the ball into a rope, about 7 inches long.
- Carefully "tie" the dough into a knot. One end will poke up through the center. Place on the prepared baking sheet and continue with the rest of the dough until finished, leaving about 1½ inch between each cookie.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden. Do not over-bake. {I like to check them at 10 minutes and see if the bottoms are getting too brown.} The cookies may crack a bit as they puff up during the baking process. That's ok! Remember they'll be covered with icing and sprinkles.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool before icing.
Make Icing
- In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk and extract until the mixture is smooth. If the mixture seems too watery, add a bit more confectioners' sugar to thicken. If the mixture is too thick, add a milk ¼ teaspoon at a time until it thins out. I usually know it's the right consistency when drizzling the icing with a spoon, it disappears into itself within 1 second.
Ice Cookies
- When the cookies are cooled, dunk each one upside down into the icing, allowing the excess to drip off. Flip over and place on a cooling rack on a baking pan, allowing the icing to drip off.
- Add nonpareils or sprinkles while the icing is still wet. Allow the icing to set completely before packaging or serving.
Original Text & Photos from 2012:
Why, hello! I'm back from our Anniversary Weekend Getaway to Sanibel & Captiva tanned and ready to talk food. 🙂 The hubby & I headed over to the West coast of our state last weekend to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary the best way we know how: Lounging, eating, and spending lots of time on the beach!
June has been overflowing with bridal showers, weddings, anniversaries {and babies... so many babies! But that's a whole different department! 😉 }, and I love all of the above. Mostly because all of the occasions I mentioned mean joyful celebrations with family and friends {and, who am I kidding... yummy food!}. What's better than celebrating love with people you love and food you love?? Nothing!
So, in honor of all the lovey-doveyness going on, I thought I'd get a little mushy on you and share a recipe for a classic Italian cookie representing two lives intertwining in marriage or two people "tying the knot". {If you're feeling a bit cynical or jaded today, this post may not be for you... but the cookie will still hit the spot!} 😛
I tried this recipe out back in April, when I was invited to my college roomate's bridal shower. I wanted to give her something really special along with the predictable {though lovely!} registry gift. So I dedided to include a "sweet" little addition to the serving platter I purchased... cookies! But not just any cookies. Cookies that reflected her Italian background and her Polish fiance's heritage as well. After doing a little research, I decided on Italian Love Knot cookies and Polish Faworki {big thanks to Anna, Gen's sister-in-law-to-be, for the wonderful suggestion!}.
Italian Love Knots often make an appearance at Steve's family's Christmas dessert table {made deliciously by his Aunt Fran}, decorated in the classic style with white glaze and rainbow colored sprinkles. Decorated with a little romantic flourish, I knew they'd make a great gift to give to a bride-to-be -- especially one who loves food as much as Gen does! 😉
The dough for these cookies comes together quite easily, but their assembly is a bit of a labor of love, so to speak. But don't be intimidated. Once you get the hang of creating the little knots, they're actually pretty easy to crank out. If you start to get frustrated, just recite "Love is patient, love is kind..." a couple of times and you should be fine. 😉
Below you'll find the recipe for the Love Knots, and I plan on sharing the recipe for the Polish Faworki later in the week. I hope you'll enjoy sharing these with your sweetie or with family & friends. They're a cookie everyone will be sure to LOVE!
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| The Bride-to-Be & opening her gift. 🙂 |
Eftychia says
These cookies look delicious! I like very much their decoration! Thanks for sharing.
La Cipota says
Those really look amazing, I will definitely have to try them! thanks for the lovely post!!
Anonymous says
these are beautiful. going to make the for my family for Valentines Day!
thekitchenprep says
@Eftychia - Thank you!
@La Cipota - Thanks for the compliment! Hope you enjoy them!
@Anonymous - That's wonderful! What a sweet Valentine's gift. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Megan Shaw says
How many does this recipe make?
Anonymous says
I made these yesterday and they were an instant hit! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Anonymous says
Can you freeze these?
thekitchenprep says
I've personally never tried, but I don't see why not! Maybe leave the glaze off and glaze after thawing, though, as I'm not sure how it would hold up.
Anonymous says
Help Im super confused... do you have 2 different recipes for this cookies? I found this one with lemon juice and zest but I also found a pin for the same cookie with almond, but it takes me to this recipe and do you prefer 1 over the other?
thekitchenprep says
@Anonymous - Hmm... I've only ever made & posted this recipe, but I'm sure there are lots of other versions out there! Do you prefer the flavor of almond (like amaretto) or a citrus flavor? I think they're both equally delicious! I think the almond or anise (licorice-type) flavor is probably more classic, but this one is lovely, too.
Angel says
How many eggs are used in the recipe? Looking forward to making the cookies.
thekitchenprep says
Hi Angel! You'll need 3 eggs. I just updated this recipe and must've left out the eggs when I re-typed it! Sorry about that! Thanks for the heads up, I've edited the recipe card. Happy Baking!
Lori says
I'm saving this recipe for Xmas. My family loves these during the holidays. Just make them red & green icing. Anise is good but I'd rather save that for putzels. These I might try with some zest. Glad I found your page. Thanks!!
thekitchenprep says
I flavor them with zest, too, since most people prefer that flavor. I hope they turn out great for you. Enjoy!