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This Italian Christmas cookies recipe makes the softest, pillowy, cloud-like treats topped with sweet almond glaze and festive sprinkles! Made with creamy ricotta cheese, they’re incredibly easy to make—no rolling, no cutting, just scoop and bake. Perfect for holiday cookie exchanges, family gatherings, or whenever you need a crowd-pleasing dessert that everyone comes back for seconds or thirds!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Cheryl’s Note
This Italian Christmas cookie recipe is part of something SUPER fun! Every year, we participate in The Sweetest Season, a cookie recipe exchange with other food bloggers worldwide! We share the love of delicious cookies that spread joy, and help raise money for charity at the same time. Two things I am behind 100%. Check out more information at The Sweetest Season page.
The charity we’re raising money for this year is Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. They are a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative, and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Since 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has granted nearly $18 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers across the country. From these grants have stemmed 35+ treatments available to kids battling cancer today.
Here’s a link to this year’s fundraising page for the Sweetest Season. Definitely no pressure to donate, but it’s there if you’d like to!
Why This Recipe is So Good
- These cookies are ridiculously soft and tender — the ricotta creates this melt-in-your-mouth, cake-like texture that’s totally addictive. They stay soft for days (if they last that long), and every bite feels like eating a sweet little cloud. Your family will be sneaking these off the cooling rack before you even get a chance to glaze them!
- These yummy Italian cookies for Christmas are versatile for any celebration; just swap the sprinkle colors and you’ve got cookies for Easter, baby showers, birthdays, or any party. The sweet almond glaze pairs beautifully with the subtle vanilla-ricotta flavor, creating that classic Italian-American bakery taste everyone loves.
- You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and keep it chilled, or freeze it for up to 2 months. This means you can knock out your cookie list without the last-minute stress.
- The recipe makes about 25 cookies, which is plenty for sharing, gifting, or filling up your holiday dessert spread. And since they come together in about 30 minutes of active time, you can easily double the batch if you’re feeding a ton of people or attending multiple gatherings.
What You Need to Know Before You Start
- Before you start baking, check your ricotta cheese for visible liquid pooling on top or a very wet texture. If you see either, then spoon the ricotta into a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towels and let it drain for 15 to 30 minutes. This prevents the cookies from spreading too much during baking and keeps them perfectly soft without being dense. Whole-milk ricotta gives the richest, most tender results, so splurge on the good stuff if you can!
- Beat 1 cup ricotta cheese, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons almond extract together for about 1 minute until the mixture is light, fluffy, and visibly paler in color. This incorporates air into the dough, which helps your cookies rise properly and creates that signature soft, cakey texture. If you skimp on this step, you’ll end up with denser cookies.
- After you add 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and the rest of the dry ingredients, mix just until everything is combined and you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing develops the gluten and makes the cookies tough instead of tender. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky—that’s exactly what you want!
- If your dough feels too sticky to handle, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours. This makes scooping and shaping the cookies way easier and helps them hold their shape better in the oven. But if you’re short on time, skip this step and bake them right away—just dampen your hands slightly when rolling the dough balls to prevent sticking.
Recipe Variations
Make it Lemon-Flavored: Replace the almond extract with 2 teaspoons lemon extract in both the cookies and the glaze. Add 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest to the dough for extra citrus punch.
Make it with Anise: Swap the almond extract for 1 teaspoon anise extract for that traditional Italian flavor. Your kitchen will smell amazing!
Add Chocolate Chips: Fold ½ cup mini chocolate chips or white chocolate chips into the dough after adding the flour mixture for a fun twist.
Go Colorful: Divide the glaze into separate bowls and tint each with food coloring for rainbow cookies. Kids love helping with this!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for up to 2 months. Just portion it into balls, freeze them on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Freeze the baked, unglazed cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container with wax paper between layers. They’ll keep for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then glaze and decorate.
This usually means your ricotta was too wet or your dough was too warm. Make sure to drain watery ricotta before using it, and chill the dough if it feels very soft and sticky. Also, check that your oven is actually at 350°F—an oven that’s not hot enough will cause spreading.
You can, but the cookies won’t be quite as rich and tender. Whole-milk ricotta has more fat, which creates that ultra-soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. If part-skim is all you have, it’ll still work—just expect slightly less richness.
Nope! If you don’t like almond flavor, use vanilla extract instead or try lemon extract for a fresh twist. Some families also love anise extract for a traditional Italian flavor.
More Sweet Christmas Recipes
- Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies with Homemade Icing
- Christmas Confetti Cookies
- Christmas Dessert Grazing Board
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out or Drop Cookies)
- Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Coconut Cookies
- Paleo Cookies with Frosting (Lofthouse Style)
- Soft & Chewy Butterscotch Cookies
- Paleo Peppermint Oreos
- Easy 4-Ingredient Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Bars
- Healthy Fudgy Brownies (Refined Sugar-Free)
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Italian Ricotta Christmas Cookies
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- parchment paper
- medium mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- 1-tablespoon cookie scoop optional, but helpful
- Small bowl for glaze
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup ricotta cheese drain excess liquid if watery
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
For the Glaze
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tablespoon almond extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons hot water more as needed
- Nonpareils or festive sprinkles for topping
Instructions
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup ricotta cheese and ¾ cup granulated sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons almond extract to the ricotta mixture. Stir until fully combined.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture, stirring just until combined. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky to handle, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
- Lightly dampen your hands with water. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden and tops are set but still pale. Don’t let the tops brown!
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Glaze and Decorate
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ tablespoon almond extract, and 1½ tablespoons hot water until smooth. Add more hot water ½ teaspoon at a time if needed to reach a thick but pourable consistency.
- Once cookies are completely cool, dip the top of each cookie into the glaze. Let excess glaze drip back into the bowl, then turn cookie glaze-side up and immediately sprinkle with nonpareils.
- Place glazed cookies on the wire rack and let sit for at least 1 hour until glaze is completely set before serving or storing.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Cheryl, HOW THE HECK have I never had these Italian Christmas Cookies before?! The ricotta in the dough is absolute brilliance! The almond glaze and sprinkles make them look like little holiday clouds, and I love that they’re scoop and bake with no fuss. This recipe is such a festive win!
Thank you so much for participating in this year’s Sweetest Season and bringing another delicious cookie recipe to the virtual celebration. I am so appreciative for you and everyone who joins me in this yearly and am always blown away with the generosity. I hope you and yours have the happiest holiday season!
Thank you so much for allowing us to participate in another amazing Sweetest Season! We hope you and yours had an amazing holiday season! We’re already looking forward to next year! 😊
In the recipe it says to beat the sugar and the ricotta for 1 minute. But in the post, it says to beat 1 cup ricotta cheese, ¾ cup granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons almond extract together for a full 3 to 4 minutes. Which one should I follow? These cookies look like they would be good.
Sorry for the mix up. And the late reply. You beat it for 1 minute. It’s been corrected.