Gramma Stoio's soft Italian cookies
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20 Cookies
45 Minutes
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Inspiration
This bake-off banger was shared with us by long-time Market employee (and gramma!) Barb Stoio-Cappotto. When Market chef Steve made these cookies at home, he flavored them with toasted and crushed cardamom seeds—but however you make them, they’ll be perfect to share with the mothers in your life!
Ingredients
for the cookies:
3 cups (360g) Semolina or all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup (106g) white sugar
½ stick (60g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup high-quality olive oil or regular vegetable oil
3 large eggs
a pinch of Kosher or fine sea salt
for the glaze:
5 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar
5 Tbsp milk
Method
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until the yellow color fades a bit, and a good amount of air has whipped into the mixture.
Beat the eggs together then add to the buttercream and follow with the flour, incorporating a little at a time. This is also the time to add any flavorings you may like—a tablespoon of vanilla or lemon extract would be traditional. Mix any liquid flavorings into the eggs before combining with the other ingredients; if you’re using ground spices, mix them in with the dry ingredients.
Once the mixture achieves the texture of wet sand, pack it into a large ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes. When the time comes to cook, separate the dough into smaller balls of 34-37g and bake on a nonstick cookie sheet at 350°F for 9 to 12 minutes.
The cookies will be very fragile when they come out of the oven, so don’t disturb them! Within a few minutes, they’ll set firm and you can move them wherever you need. In the meantime, you can whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and milk to create a smooth glaze. Pour over once the cookies are set, and enjoy!