Nonna Santopietro’s Italian Lemon Cookies (Anginetti)

Foods trigger nostalgia, sparking the sense memories – sight, smell, taste, even touch. My Nonna's lemon cookies take me back to my childhood up until my early 20s, when I stood beside her as she demonstrated how to make them. Teresa Marzilli Santopietro made these sweet rounds weekly, and had them ready for the unexpected visitor, a grandchild, a neighbor, the mail carrier.  She called them lemon cookies. We called them “Nonna’s cookies”. I have since learned that Nonna’s cookies are known as Anginetti in Italy. Other names include: Italian wedding cookies, Italian lemon cookies, knot cookies, ancinetti, or ginetti. They are made all over Italy, especially in the South, and are served on special occasions and holidays like Christmas and Easter. The cookies are great morning biscuits or midday snacks, and to me best accompanied by a coffee.

Makes 20 to 24 cookies.

Ingredients
For the cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon butter

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
Colorful nonpareil or other sprinkles (optional)

Steps
1. Set a wire rack slightly below the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Make the cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use your hands to form a wide hole in the middle of the flour so that you can see the bottom of the bowl. To the hole, add the sugar, lemon zest, oil, milk, egg, vanilla, and lemon extract. Using a fork, beat the wet mixture only, keeping it inside the hole you’ve created, until well mixed. Using your fork, gradually pull a little flour from the sides of the bowl into the wet mixture. Keep pulling in some flour, a little at a time. Once a wet dough has formed, give it a few presses with your hands to bring it together. (Do not work it too much, because you don’t want to activate the gluten proteins in the flour. When glutens form, they make the cookies chewy instead of soft and crumbly.) Let the dough rest.

3.  Meanwhile, apply a thin layer of butter to a large baking sheet.

4. Roll the dough into roughly 1 1/2-inch balls, slightly smaller than a ping pong ball. Lay them on the greased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Cook until the bottoms brown, for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make the glaze: Combine the confectioner's sugar, milk, lemon juice, and lemon extract in a medium bowl. When you lift a spoon from the mixture, it should flow quickly. If it’s too thick, add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until the desired consistency. (I like my glaze to be thin.)

6. Set a wire baking rack over a baking sheet. Holding the bottom of the cooled cookies, dip the cookie tops into the glaze, shaking off excess. Lay the cookies, frosting-side-up, on the baking rack. If you choose, top with nonpareil or sprinkles while still wet. Let sit until the frosting dries.