Italian Easter cookies, or uncinetti, are tender, knot-shaped cookies flavored with lemon and almond. They're dipped in pastel glaze and topped with festive sprinkles.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft, tender sugar cookies flavored with lemon zest, vanilla, and almond. Topped with a thin layer of glaze and sprinkles.
Made with a bowl and spoon: No hand mixer needed. The dough is stirred together, then gently kneaded by hand before shaping into knots.
Yield: 15 cookies
Similar to: Frosted Lemon Cookies and Soft Sugar Cookies
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Lemon - Lemon zest adds fresh citrus flavor to your cookies, but could be substituted with lemon extract if needed. Substitute 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in the cookie dough with ½ teaspoon of extract. Substitute the lemon juice with milk (lemon juice adds a bit of acidity but not enough lemon flavor to require a lemon extract substitution).
- Decorations - Food coloring and sprinkles are optional. Omit the food coloring for a simple white glaze and add any sprinkles (or not) that you like.
How to make Italian Easter cookies
- Mash wet ingredients together to form a paste, then add whisked dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until the dough looks smooth and uniform (this should take a minute or less).
- Divide dough into 1.5 tablespoon portions. Use a cookie scoop for even portioning.
- Roll dough balls into 5-6 inch ropes, then tie each rope over itself to make a knot.
- Place knots 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake until the tops are set and the bottoms begin to lightly brown.
- Prepare icing, divide into bowls and add food coloring.
- Spread icing onto each cookie and top with sprinkles.
Tips and tricks
Add flour as needed - If your dough feels very sticky during any part of the process, add a dusting of flour to the countertop and/or your hands. The dough should feel soft and barely sticky to the touch, but not sticky enough to pull apart while rolling.
Don't overbake - Since these cookies don't contain much sugar, they won't brown in the oven. How do you tell when they're done? The cookies will no longer look shiny and they'll feel set (not doughy) when gently pressed on top.
Allow cookies to dry completely - The icing will take about 1-2 hours to dry before they're ready to be stored.
Decoration variations - Food coloring and sprinkles are optional, but make a festive addition to the Easter table. Traditional uncinetti are made without food coloring and topped with pastel sprinkles. Add white icing and sprinkles for weddings.
Frequently asked questions
Uncinetti in Italian means crochet. The cookies are shaped into knots like crochet, hence the name.
Yes, these cookies will keep for 5-7 days at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw frozen cookies, place on the countertop, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.
I used sugar pearls in the pictures, but rainbow jimmies, nonpareils, or round confetti sprinkles are all great options.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Italian Easter Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Glaze
- 1 cup (113 g) confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring, optional
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter, milk, sugar, egg, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mash together with a wooden spoon until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to remove clumps.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until a dough forms.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and gently knead until smooth and all dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide dough into 1.5 tablespoon portions and roll into 5-6 inch ropes. Gently tie each rope over itself to make a knot and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies no longer look shiny and feel set on top (they will not brown on top).
- Transfer to a cooling rack to bring to room temperature. While cookies cool, prepare the glaze.
Glaze
- In a bowl, add confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Optionally, divide glaze between smaller bowls and add desired food coloring to each (to achieve a pastel color in a small amount of icing, use a toothpick to add a small dot at a time).
- Spread glaze over cookies and add sprinkles while glaze is wet.
- Allow cookies to dry for at least 1 hour before storing.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Storing dough: Cookie dough will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Storing cookies: Cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature or in the freezer for 3 months. Add a slice of bread to the cookie container to help keep cookies moist. Replace as needed (bread will dry out).
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions.
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!