Easy Taralli Dolci (Northern Italian Tea Cookies)

Why You Will Love This Taralli Dolci!

Taralli in Italy are ring shaped cookies that are made from a simple dough with seasonings. They can be savory or sweet. This one is a sweet (dolci) and so delicious.

This particular recipe comes from the Northern region of Italy and is made with milk, orange and lemon zest and ground nuts on top. I also love making these with coarse sugar on top instead of the nuts.

Its flavor is like a biscotti (cantucci) and the texture is more crumbly and just shy of being crisp. They last forever on the counter so you can snack on them all week if they last that long. I love enjoying these with coffee.

You will find this style of cookie all throughout the year in Italy with different flavors added to the dough. They are also very special during the Easter season.

The ring shape is symbolic of the crown of Christ. So at Easter, go ahead and add festive colors to the tops of these cookies for an authentic Italian treat!

Recipe Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Kosher salt
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract
• Milk: Make sure to use whole milk
• Orange and Lemon zest
• Granulated Sugar
• Honey
• Powdered sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Large eggs
• Almonds: You can also use almond meal

How To Make Taralli Dolci

• Cream butter: You want to start with creaming the butter and the anise. After the butter is creamed, add the sugar and mix until fluffy then add in the egg and mix until incorporated. 
• Add dry ingredients: Now you add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) to the creamed mixture and mix until the dough becomes crumbly.
• Roll: Using half of the dough and refrigerating the other half until ready, begin taking small chunks of dough (about a heaping tablespoon) and roll the dough into a log shape about 6 inches long.

• Make the ring shape: Take the two ends of the log shape you rolled and bring them together by overlapping one piece on top of the other and gently pressing the dough together then place on a baking sheet.
• Add topping: Brush on the egg wash and then sprinkle on the crushed almonds.
• Bake: Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
• Cool: When done baking, allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet.
• Clean up the cookies: Once the cookies are cool, grab a toothpick and gently clean out the center of the cookies with it. The almonds can get caked up int he center from sprinkling them on before baking.

Tips For Rolling the Taralli

These cookies are so easy and the one part that you will get the hang of after a few minutes is rolling the dough into logs. Here are some tips that I learned over the years!

• Pinch individual amounts then roll: Some people prefer to roll the dough into one long log shape then cut that to size but I prefer to roll individual ones. The reason is the dough can get sticky quickly making the rolling harder which happens with the longer pieces.
• Chill half the dough while you work with the other half: Continuing on from what I mentioned above about the dough getting sticky. I like to work with half of the dough at one time and chill the dough I am not working with. It prevents it from getting sticky.
• Give the dough a little pinch: Once you make the ring shape with the dough, you want to gently press one piece of dough on top of the other and lightly press them together. This ensures the pieces do not separate during baking.
• Do not add extra flour: If the dough gets too sticky to work with, just chill it in the fridge for a little bit.

Different Taralli Dolci Toppings

There are so many ways to top these sweet taralli cookies. Here are some ideas:

• Use an icing: I often use a simple powdered sugar and milk icing to cover these. You can make a lemony icing like I use for my lemon ricotta cookies to add more lemon flavor.
• Add icing and sprinkles: At Easter, it is fun to go all out with Easter colored sprinkles.
• Add sugar: As I mentioned earlier, I love using a nice coarse sugar for the topping that I add before baking. it is simple and sweet.

Storing

These cookies store really well. I have had great success making these and storing them covered on the counter for up to one week. If you plan on storing them longer, place them on a plate side by side then cover and refrigerate.

You can freeze the dough though for up to 3 months. Just thaw the dough in the fridge overnight.