These delicate and buttery Italian Pinch cookies are made from a thin cookie dough. The dough is pinched together to hold a thick jam filling. Finally, they are sprinkled with powdered sugar! It’s the ultimate treat for breakfast or tea time and isn’t overly sweet either!
The thin cookie base adds a crunchy texture perfectly balanced with the warm and gooey jam filling! Sure! You can easily fill these cookies with delicious Nutella instead. It will give you a sweeter and richer cookie!
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🗝️ Recipe's key points
- Simple steps and common ingredients make this recipe easy for any level of baker.
- Melt in your mouth cookies with a light lemon flavor and jamy filling.
- Pairs great with eggnog or a cappuccino.
- These cookies are perfect for breakfast, tea time, or special occasions like the holidays!
These Italian Pinch Cookies are a classic treat that everyone will love this Christmas season or any time of year!
🛒 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
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- Flour -- regular all-purpose is fine.
- Baking powder
- Lemon zest
- Confectioner's sugar
- Egg yolk
- Butter -- make sure it's cold and cut into small cubes
- Jam -- we used strawberry, but raspberry and apricot are good.
🗒 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Add all the flour, except for one tablespoon, to a food processor.
- Add the baking powder, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Pulse a few times.
- Add the cubed butter and pulse.
- Once the mixture has a sandy consistency, add the yolk.
- Pulse several times.
- Transfer the dough to a working surface and slowly incorporate the remaining flour. Knead until the dough comes together, but don’t over work it.
- Place the dough ball on a sheet of cling film, flatten it into a disk, and wrap it well. Let the dough chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven and place the baking tray on the middle shelf. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into a ⅛" thickness.
- Cut out 2.5-inch circles from the rolled dough.
- Place the circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Add half a teaspoon of jam in the center of each circle.
- Bring the sides of the dough together as if to close the circle, and pinch the ends gently but firmly together to secure them.
- Bake the cookies for 17 minutes or until golden on top. Remove them from the oven, then cool them on a baking rack.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cooled cookies and serve.
🥫 Storage
Store these cookies in an airtight container or sealed jar in a cool and dry area of your kitchen or pantry for 3-4 days. You can also store these cookies in the fridge for the same length of time, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
📚 Variations
- Substitute the lemon zest with an equal amount of orange zest.
- Substitute the butter in this recipe with 50 ml of light extra-virgin olive oil. This makes these cookies dairy-free!
- Experiment with flavored extracts like coconut, vanilla, or almond for a unique twist.
- Add a handful of finely chopped nuts, such as pistachios or hazelnuts, for crunch.
- Incorporate a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or cardamom for a warm, aromatic touch.
- Use a different jam, such as raspberry jam, blueberry jam, or apricot jam!
- Fill these Italian pinch cookies with Nutella or another dessert spread of your choice for extra decadence.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Always allow freshly baked cookies to cool completely before you store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
- Ensure the egg yolk is at room temperature for better incorporation.
- I've used gram measurements for this cookie recipe which is best, but you can use US cup measurements instead.
- The cold cubed butter provides a delicate pastry-like consistency to the dough. It’s also essential to rest the dough in the fridge before assembling and baking the cookies.
- You can use a metal serving ring, cookie cutter or cup to cut the circles in the dough.
🤔 FAQs
This depends on the type of Italian cookie recipe. These pinch cookies are also known as biscotti cookies.
Biscotti di Regina translates to “The Queens Cookies”. These cookies are also known as reginelle or Sicilian sesame seed cookies. They are small cookies coated with sesame seeds.
Bee-SKO-tee”.
“Pit-si-kaa-tee”.
Pizzicati are also known as biscotti pizzicati or pinch cookies.
📗 Related Recipes
- Italian Chocolate Toto Cookies - Totos are Chocolate Italian Christmas cookies studded with chocolate chips and walnuts. Cinnamon, cloves, and pepper spice are added to these delicious bicuits with an underlying note of orange and vanilla.
- The Best Italian Christmas Cookies - Soft buttery anise-flavored Italian Cookies are dipped in a creamy glaze, topped with colorful sprinkles. They are perfect for holidays and special occasions!
- Ricciarelli Almond Cookies - You'll love these classic Italian Ricciarelli Almond Cookies for their chewy texture and yummy almond flavor. They are a stunning choice for the holiday dessert table.
- Italian Florentine Cookies - These cookies are nutty, fruity, and drizzled in chocolate. They are the ultimate festive indulgence.
🍽 What to serve with Italian Pinch Cookies
These would be perfect on a holiday dessert platter with other small treats like Espresso Coffee Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroon, Old Fashioned Lemon Bars, buttery melt-in-your-mouth Italian Wedding Cookies, or the stunning, unusual tri-color Neapolitan Christmas Cookies.
These delicious cookies are also great alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a dessert bowl.
🔪 All Our Way recommends the following
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Food processor
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Kitchen scale or dry measuring cups
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Are tired of the same ol' Christmas cookies year after year? Then start a new holiday tradition with these delicate bites of scrumptious, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Making Pizzicati cookies is not only an absolute blast but this recipe is so easy it practically makes itself.
These little charms will transport your taste buds to pure sugar paradise. So grab your aprons, crank up the Christmas tunes, and get ready to make the most delicious Italian Pizzicati Christmas Cookies on the planet.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📖 Recipe
Pizzicati - Italian Pinch Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking powder 2g
- zest of half lemon
- ¼ cup powdered sugar 30g
- ⅓ cup butter cold and cut into small cubes 60g
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup strawberry or apricot jam — your favorite thick jam 80g
Instructions
- Set aside one tablespoon of flour. Add the remaining flour into a a bowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade, followed by the baking powder, lemon zest and powdered sugar, and mix briefly with several pulses. Add cubed butter and pulse again.
- Once you have a sandy mixture, add the yolk and pulse several times. Transfer onto a working surface, slowly incorporate the remaining tablespoon of flour if necessary, and knead briefly until the dough comes together.
- Transfer the ball onto a sheet of cling film, flatten it into a disk and wrap it well. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 170°C/340°F or with fan option on at 150°C/300°F. Arrange the baking tray onto the middle shelf.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll until the dough is approximately ⅛" thick. With a metal serving ring, cookie cutter or cup, cut circles about 2.5-inch/6cm in diameter.
- Place half a teaspoon of jam in the center of each circle.
- Bring the sides of the dough together as if to close the circle, and pinch the ends gently but firmly together to secure them.
- Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake them for about 17 minutes or until golden on top. Remove them from the oven, then cool them on a baking rack.
- Once completely cooled, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and serve them.
Notes
Nutrition
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