I love baking for the holidays. And these Italian Christmas cookies are definitely a Christmas tradition in our household. They are cake-like, soft, fluffy and melt in your mouth amazing. Not overly sweet, just perfect and this is my favorite part about them.

Traditionally called “anginette,” these cookies are wonderful addition to your holiday cookie tray. Thery are usually flavored with anise, a very classic, typical Italian licorice taste. You can flavor them with other aromatic extracts that suit your personal palette like like vanilla, orange or licorice. This particular recipe calls for the almond extract. I love everything almond. It is bold but not overwhelming with a beautiful nutty note.

The texture of the cookie is moist and soft, almost that of a cake. So do not expect chewy or crunchy cookies. I also usually frost them to intensify the flavors and make them festive and very esthetically eye pleasing.

The ready cookies looks like puffballs with delicious frosting smeared on top. The decoration ideas are endless and so much fun to do together with your kids. My daughter loves dressing up the cookies with sprinkles.

And they are so easy and quick to make. They do not spread out while baking so you can fit a lot of them on the baking sheet, and all your baking is done in a flash. With just a handful of simple ingredients you have tasty, bakery quality, gorgeous looking cookies on your plate in no time with a minimal effort. They definitely make a great addition to your holiday baking goods.