Anginetti – Italian Lemon Drop Cookies are a classic Italian light, cake-like lemon cookie that is frosted with a just as light lemon icing.
My brother while stationed in NY serving in the United States Marine Corps met his soul mate, Deanna Andriotti. She was born and raised in Long Island and has strong Italian routes. Back in 2011 they married and we were beyond excited, when they came to visit for Christmas I knew it would be hard for her to be away from her family so I wanted to make her favorite cookie to bring some of her home here. When I asked her, she said Anginetti – having never heard of it I jumped into my research. Ever since then I have loved making these delightful Italian Lemon Drop Cookies for little tea parties, baby showers, brunch occasions, and holiday gifts.
Enjoy! XOXO San
How do you make Anginetti – Italian Lemon Drop Cookies?
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Cream together sugar and shortening.
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Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.
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Add flour, baking powder and salt; Mix well.
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The dough should be soft and sticky.
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With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
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Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
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Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
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Combine confectioners’ sugar, water, and lemon extract and mix until smooth, the frosting will be stiffer than you are used too. This is not your average cookie frosting.
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Frost the tops of each cookie with a metal spatula.
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Allow cookies to dry before stacking.
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Store in an airtight container.
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NOTE -If you want to freeze the cookies, freeze unfrosted and frost once thawed.
My favorite kitchen tools used to make Anginetti – Italian Lemon Drop Cookies
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MEASURING CUPS: Nothing beats a good set of measuring cups that last a long time. I love metal measuring cups because of their durability.
MEASURING SPOONS: I have to have a metal set of measuring spoons on hand. The plastic ones just don’t last long in our house thanks in large part to the garbage disposal.
KITCHENAID MIXER: I love my Kitchen-Aid mixer and use it almost daily. For cookies, bread, sauces, frostings and dough – I find many recipes that I can use my Kitchenaid to reduce prep time. I have two that I couldn’t live without.
OR
HAND MIXER: I love these for small batches or quick and easy recipes that don’t require a lot of ingredients. I love that you can have so many color options now, I love personally love teal
MIXING BOWLS: I love having a variety of sizes of mixing bowls. From small to large, I find that having at least 3 bowls of different sizes has been essential in my kitchen. I prefer Pyrex because of its durability.
Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!
Anginetti (Italian Lemon Drop Cookies)
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream together sugar and shortening.
- Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt; Mix well.
- The dough should be soft and sticky.
- With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.
- Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
Frosting
- Combine confectioners' sugar, water, and lemon extract and mix until smooth, the frosting will be stiffer than you are used too. This is not your average cookie frosting.
- Frost the tops of each cookie with a metal spatula.
- Allow cookies to dry before stacking.
- Store in an airtight container.
- NOTE -If you want to freeze the cookies, freeze unfrosted and frost once thawed.
Nutrition
My review: I love the sweet lemon taste and I love the look when they are garnished with lemon zest. They would go well with any brunch or shower occasion.
Kids review: Well only a couple of my kids like lemon, my girls were super excited when we saw them wanting to set up a tea party for themselves and a few of their closest stuffed animal friends.
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I feel so special to be featured on your blog! I hope everyone enjoys making them as much as I love eating them. Love you!
Please, please before your brother sees it and gives you a huge nookie or something: it’s Marine Corps, not “core.”
Cheryl – thank you! I didn’t even catch that….THANKS! San
I love lemon cookies! They are so fresh and I can eat a ton of them and not be overloaded with sweetness. Thanks!!
YUM, these cookies look amazing!! I LOVE lemon and I will be making these cookies for sure! Thanks for sharing & pinned for later! 🙂
These look awesome! I’m definitely going to pin them for later!
Another great post from you. I may have to try making these!